An estimated thirty to forty percent of all the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by humans and human activity is dissolved not in air, but in the planet’s rivers, lakes, and oceans. As a result, some of the carbon dioxide reacts with the water, forming a corrosive substance known as carbonic acid. In turn, coral, mollusks, and other shelled animals become weaker, threatening to forever change the way life goes on in oceans and other waterways.
Spikes in Ocean Acidity Directly Linked to Local Factors
Many of us think our daily activities really don’t make much of an impact on vast bodies of water. A new study led by researchers from Duke University is pointing to the exact opposite: spikes in ocean acidity are in fact directly linked to local factors.
The study has documented that dramatic, natural short-term increases in acidity have occurred, using an estuary in North Carolina as a model for observing changes over the course of a single year. Zackary I Johnson, Aurther P. Kaupe Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment told reporters that “The natural short-term variability in acidity we observed over the course of one year exceeds 100-year global predictions for the ocean as a whole and may already be exerting added pressure on some of the estuary’s organisms, particularly shelled organisms that are especially susceptible to changes in pH.
The study showed that short-term acidity spikes were driven by changes in water flow, temperature, biological activity, and other factors, and are occurring in addition to the larger, long-term acidification that is taking place in our planet’s oceans as a direct result of climate change caused by human activity.
“For vulnerable coastal marine ecosystems, this may be adding insult to injury,” said Johnson. This is because when the effects of short-term variation and long-term ocean acidification combine forces, they can create extreme events which can be particularly harmful to fragile coastal marine life.
If current trends continue, ocean experts predict that the ocean’s mean pH will decrease by approximately 0.2 units over the course of the next fifty years. While this might sound minuscule, it actually is a massive drop that could have a far-reaching impact not just on shelled organisms, but on the ocean ecosystem and the planet as a whole.
“We may see significant changes in biological processes such as primary production. Some organisms, such as phytoplankton, may benefit. Many other, including shelled organism and coral, will not,” said assistant professor of microbial ecology Dana Hunt, who co-authored the study. “Understanding to what extent pH naturally varies in coastal ecosystems worldwide will be essential for predicting where and when the effects of increasing ocean acidity will be most profound, and what organisms and ecosystems may be most affected,” she added.
Some of the changes tracked by the team took place on a daily or hourly basis, while others occurred more slowly, over the course of an entire season. While we as average citizens might not grasp the science behind the study, we can certainly understand the importance of reducing our own carbon footprints. Every small action we take has the potential to harm or benefit the environment at large. In many ways, the final outcome is in our hands.