Ocean Acidity and Carbon Dioxide Both Increasing

Australia's Great Barrier Reef and coral reefs of its type could be damaged by the increasing ocean acidity.

A growing degree of acidity in Earth’s oceans correlates with increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, something scientists have been suspecting but now are able to prove.

Increasingly acidic water harms certain sea animals and could reduce the ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide, according to researchers at the University of Chicago. 

"The acidity increased more than 10 times faster than had been predicted by climate change models and other studies," says J. Timothy Wootton, a professor of ecology and evolution at the university. "This increase will have a severe impact on marine food webs and suggests that ocean acidification may be a more urgent issue than previously thought, at least in some areas of the ocean."

The ocean plays a significant role in global carbon cycles. When atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves in water it forms carbonic acid, increasing the acidity of the ocean. 

"Many sea creatures have shells or skeletons made of calcium carbonate, which the acid can dissolve," said Catherine Pfister of the University of Chicago and a co-author of the study. "Therefore, the increased acidity of the ocean could interfere with many critical ocean processes such as coral reef building or shellfish harvesting."

Click here for the PhysOrg.com article.