Learn how our oceans are absorbing increasingly more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, leading to lower pH and greater acidity. Like a sponge, our oceans are absorbing increasing amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Ocean acidification is best known for its osteoporosis-like effects on shellfish, which makes building and maintaining shells difficult for these creatures.
Acidification also affects other species vital to the marine ecosystem, including reef-building corals and pteropods tiny snails eaten by numerous species such as fish and whales.
Ocean carbon dioxide concentrations are now higher than at any time during the past , years, and the current rate of increase is likely unprecedented. The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased because of the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, gas, and oil along with land use change for instance, conversion of natural forest into crop production.
The oceans have absorbed roughly one-third of all carbon dioxide emissions related to human activities since the s. The consequences of disrupting what has been a relatively stable ocean environment for tens of millions of years are beginning to show. Ocean acidification is literally causing a sea change that is threatening the fundamental chemical balance of ocean and coastal waters from pole to pole.
Human health is also a concern. In the laboratory, many harmful algal species produce more toxins and bloom faster in acidified waters. A similar response in the wild could harm people eating contaminated shellfish and sicken fish and marine mammals.
