That’s not a dire prediction linked to climate change. It’s already starting to happen as the ocean gets more acidic. And for the Lowcountry, ocean acidification might not even be the real threat. It might be what scientists call the one-two punch of acidification and low oxygen in the estuaries, the nursery for the shellfish we eat – shrimp, oysters, clams.
BY JULIET EILPERIN June 17 at 12:01 AM President Obama on Tuesday will announce his intent to make a broad swath of the central Pacific Ocean off-limits to fishing, energy exploration and other activities, according to senior White House officials…. Read More ›
IBTimes UK looks at the most polluted oceans areas and seas in the world. Atlantic Ocean – Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone The Gulf of Mexico is a basin in the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the gulf coast of the… Read More ›
Today, experts predict pH declines in the world’s oceans of .4 units by the end of this century—a mere 85 years from now.
The oceans absorb over a quarter of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The more we pollute, the more they absorb, and the more acidic they become. It’s unlikely that some marine life that we depend on will be able to adapt to a rate of acidification that is over ten times as fast as during the PETM.
Until now, the impact on marine species from increasing ocean acidity because of climate change has been something that was tested in tanks in labs, but which was not considered an immediate concern such as forest fires and droughts.
The new study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, a scientific journal based in England, changes that.
For many U.S. fisherman, there’s no debate about climate change. It’s here, and already majorly impacting their industries. In New Jersey, Rutgers scientists have documented for 24 years how climate change is affecting the state’s oceans through weekly fish surveys…. Read More ›
“I’m very worried about acidification. Some coral species will substitute for others, but if you lose table corals and tall branching corals, most of nooks and crannies – the hiding places for juvenile fish – will disappear. And it’ll directly affect humans being because fish stocks will be affected.”
Ten million scallops that have died in the waters near Qualicum Beach due to rising ocean acidity are the latest victims in a series of marine die-offs that have plagued the West Coast for a decade. Human-caused carbon dioxide emissions… Read More ›
New management is needed for the planet’s most important common resource Feb 22nd 2014 | From the print edition The Economist IN 1968 an American ecologist, Garrett Hardin, published an article entitled “The Tragedy of the Commons”. He argued… Read More ›
MOSS LANDING, Calif.—California marine scientists are collecting samples from sea mammals around the state to in an effort to create a map of toxic hot spots. Marine Mammal Center researchers plan to use 10 years of data collected from the… Read More ›
Neptune 911! 