What Is Ocean Acidification? | NowThis

Ocean acidification is global warming’s evil twin — and it could be disastrous for marine life, coastal communities, and our atmosphere.

In US news and current events today, global warming has an evil twin you might not have heard of: ocean acidification. And today’s rates of ocean acidification, resulting from human activities, have major consequences for marine life, coastal communities, and the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere.

Remember the pH scale? It measures the acidity of a substance on a scale of 0 to 14. The lower the number, the more acidic; the higher the number, the more basic, or alkaline. Generally, ocean water is a little alkaline.

But our present day oceans are getting more acidic. This isn’t a phenomenon that humans can feel or see, but it’s literally changing the chemistry of the ocean, and animals are not used to that.

Here’s how it works: The ocean is kind of like a sponge. It absorbs nearly 30% of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This is the ocean doing us a big favor, especially as the concentration of CO2 is the highest it’s been in 800,000 years.

When carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean, a chain of chemical reactions takes place. One result of these chemical reactions is that carbonate ions become less available in the ocean.

The most direct effect of ocean acidification is on marine calcifiers — organisms like oysters, mussels, shellfish, and coral. Marine calcifiers use carbonate ions to build strong shells, skeletons, and hard parts. Emily Osborne, a scientist who studies ocean acidification, explains in this interview.

As the ocean becomes more acidic, fewer carbonate ions are available, making the shells of these animals weak, brittle, and deformed.

Ocean acidification is an emerging problem that’s already impacting the seafood industry. Animals like oysters are struggling to build their shells and survive because their habitats are becoming corrosive.

Chefs and seafood purveyors are particularly concerned because of acidification’s effects on the marine food chain.

Watch this explainer to learn more about ocean acidification and its relation to this climate crisis.

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[realunhingedraccoon]

"Let's go back to high school chemistry class: Remember the Ph scale?"
Me, who is currently in high school chemistry class, and was not taught about PH at all: the what now

[goodbeans]

Fantastic, accessible explanation. Well done, NowThis.

[mysteryguest]

Interestingly, this is another way in which our life will be radically disrupted in about the same time as the other problems we are facing. Fossil fuels really have been a dual edged sword for humanity. The faster we get off of it, the better.

[MYKroe]

This is a clear and concerning explanation about ocean acidification. Our inaction has an obvious detrimental affect on the climate. Instead of finding ways to increase the production of fossil fuels, we should have been replacing them.

[anyastajner]

Marine scientist here! Great video, but just wanted to say NOAA is spoken as "Noah" not "N.O.A.A." :)

[OldScientist]

Not this. As regards ocean acidification, it is estimated that the ocean’s global mean surface pH may have declined (i.e., become less alkaline and thus more “acidic”) by -0.07 to -0.08 in the last 200 years — from pH8.12 during pre-industrial times to 8.04 to 8.05 today (Wei et al, 2015). N.B. The decline in pH occurred before 1930.
However, and very importantly when you look the data after CO2 emissions began rising precipitously in the 1930s, the oceans have become less “acidic”!!!
By way of comparison, from one season to the next, or over the course of less than 6 months, pH levels naturally change by ±0.15 pH units, or twice the overall rate of the last 200 years. On a per-decade scale, the changes are even more pronounced. Oceanic pH values naturally fluctuate up and down by up to 0.6 U within a span of a decade, with an overall range between 7.66 and 8.40. This is decadal rate of pH change is larger than the overall 200-year span (0.07-0.08) by a factor of 8.

[ftm_guy]

Can we please reverse ocean acidification

[Asegh]

What if every boat had Hydro fuel and didn’t have to use carbon emissions ever again wouldn’t that alleviate the systems for a lot of businesses in cutting their bottom line and still being able to transport items from point a to point B? I don’t know if you care about money. But if you did. That might make a bunch for you. My grandfather was a petroleum engineer, and spoke for the trajectory of petroleum, but seeing as how the island nation of Tuvalu is suing the United States before so much of the trajectory we could also think twice.

[nidhisri]

Soon the ocean will absorb less CO2 from the atmosphere. This is because the waters are warming and thus gasses will be absorbed less. We have ways to reverse this but will we?

[parmsoftech]

Yeah now the kids have white hairs on their head proves that humanity is on the verge of extinction lol

[dag_of_the_west]

It is not ocean "acidification", it is " neutralization ". From 1750 to now the pH has gone from 8.2 to now 8.1. Neutral pH equals 7, and numbers above that are alkaline (not more acidic). So when someone says " the oceans are more acidic" they should really be saying "the oceans are less alkaline". But that doesn't sound so bad so they refer to acids because we all know acids are scary, right?

[kyblore]

well dalagga, prophet or denial, whats the excuse this time? more propaganda or just fake news?

[SenorTucano]

Sedimentary Geologist here…

Ocean acidification is the most phenomenal fraud that is being used to scare a scientifically ignorant public.

‘acidification’ is a mere linguistic trick used because acids are scary to the general public.

pH is measured in a logarithmic scale. The average pH of seawater is 8.1. To go from 8.1 to 7.0 (neutral) would require a 110 fold decrease in the amount of carbonate in the water.

Whilst a decrease in pH from 8.1 to 8.0 technically equates to a numerical acidification, to call it acid is an outright lie as a pH of 8.0 is alkaline.

Even if CO2 absorbed from the atmosphere didn’t off gas rapidly, there is so much dissolved carbonate in the earths oceans that it forms limestones beds several kilometres thick.

The chemical buffering capacity of the earths oceans is essentially limitless with an inexhaustible supply of calcium (& magnesium) being supplied by the weathering of minerals at the earth’s surface.

Acidification (and global warming in general) is a colossal fraud.