ocean acidification and it's impact on aquatic life?
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Answers
Oceans absorb a substantial proportion of the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere by human activities, with potentially negative effects on shell-forming organisms.
Increasing CO2 in the atmosphere due to human activities not only affects the climate; it also has direct, chemical effects on ocean waters.
The oceans have absorbed between a third and a half of the CO2 humans have released into the atmosphere since about 1850. This has slowed the rate of climate change.
When CO2 dissolves in seawater, the water becomes more acidic. The acidity of the oceans has increased by 26 % since about 1850, a rate of change roughly 10 times faster than any time in the last 55 million years.
Associated chemical reactions can make it difficult for marine calcifying organisms, such as coral and some plankton, to form shells and skeletons, and existing shells become vulnerable to dissolution.
The extent to which calcifying organisms are already being affected by acidification is unclear, as this is a very new area of study. Limited evidence suggests that some organisms are more sensitive than others.
The rate at which acidification occurs is a determining factor in the extent to which calcifying organisms will be able to adapt.
The impacts of acidification will extend up the food chain to affect economic activities such as fisheries, aquaculture and tourism. Wherever there are marine calcifying organisms, there are risks from ocean acidification.