ocean acidification

Study finds increased ocean acidification due to human activities

Oceanographers from MIT and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution report that the northeast Pacific Ocean has absorbed an increasing amount of anthropogenic carbon dioxide over the last decade, at a rate that mirrors the increase of carbon dioxide emissions pumped into the atmosphere.

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  • Earth & Climate

ocean acidification

Coral reefs and ocean acidification

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute MarineGEO Postdoctoral Fellow Maggie Johnnson outlines her research studying the effects of ocean acidification on marine coral near Bocas del Toro, […]

The post Coral reefs and ocean acidification appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.




ocean acidification

Ocean acidification reduces fishes' ability to respond to sound

Researchers have found that ocean acidification leads to changes in the ways that clownfish normally respond to sound. As many species rely on hearing for orientation, habitat selection, avoiding predators and communication, ocean acidification could compromise auditory behaviour crucial for survival.




ocean acidification

Ocean acidification pushes coral reefs into decline

Coral reef formation is already decreasing worldwide. A new study predicts that formation will drop to 60% of its natural rate if anthropogenic CO2 emissions continue to rise over the next century and keep acidifying the oceans.




ocean acidification

Ocean acidification reduces fishes' ability to respond to sound

Researchers have found that ocean acidification leads to changes in the ways that clownfish normally respond to sound. As many species rely on hearing for orientation, habitat selection, avoiding predators and communication, ocean acidification could compromise auditory behaviour crucial for survival.




ocean acidification

Shark feeding may be affected by ocean acidification

Ocean acidification may affect sharks’ sense of smell, causing them to avoid food, reports new research. In lab tests, the study found that sharks exhibited less feeding behaviour when they were kept in tanks of acidified seawater. These changes could pose a risk to the health of sharks, with knock-on effects for whole marine ecosystems.




ocean acidification

Ocean acidification puts Norwegian fishing industry at risk

Fishing in most of Norway’s counties is at ‘moderate’ to ‘high’ risk from ocean acidification, concludes a new study. The researchers reached this conclusion with the use of an integrated risk-assessment method that accounts for environmental, economic and social factors within the 19 counties. They call for immediate action to protect the fishing industry against the effects of ocean acidification.




ocean acidification

Increasing ocean acidification affects larval barramundi’s response to underwater sound cues so they are potentially attracted to the wrong type of habitat

Since the industrial revolution, the ocean has absorbed increased levels of carbon dioxide, leading to the ocean’s pH becoming more acidic. Effects of these pH changes on marine and estuarine biota is the focus of much research effort worldwide and the authors of this study focus on the larval habitat-choice process of a commercially important tropical marine fish species, Lates calcarifer, barramundi.




ocean acidification

Europe could suffer major shellfish production losses due to ocean acidification

Ocean acidification threatens marine ecosystems worldwide, but economic assessments of its impact are lacking. A recent study has predicted the future cost of ocean acidification on mollusc production in Europe and showed that the highest economic impacts would be in France, Italy and Spain. For Europe overall, the annual damage could be in the region of €0.9 billion by 2100.




ocean acidification

Ocean acidification reduces fishes' ability to respond to sound

Researchers have found that ocean acidification leads to changes in the ways that clownfish normally respond to sound. As many species rely on hearing for orientation, habitat selection, avoiding predators and communication, ocean acidification could compromise auditory behaviour crucial for survival.




ocean acidification

Ocean acidification — caused by climate change — likely to reduce the survival rate of Atlantic cod larvae

The impact of ocean acidification — caused by increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions dissolving in sea water — on Atlantic cod larvae has been assessed in a new study. The researchers estimate that, under scenarios which might be reached at the end of the century, ocean acidification could double the mortality rate of cod larvae, reducing replenishment of juvenile fish into cod fisheries to 24% of previous recruitment.




ocean acidification

Growth of algae affected by ocean acidification and nutrient pollution

Ocean acidification and eutrophication may affect the growth of microscopic algae - phytoplankton - with knock-on impacts for marine food chains and fisheries, warns a new study. By growing phytoplankton under different scenarios the researchers found that phytoplankton species are affected differently according to the acidity and nutrient content of the water.




ocean acidification

Shipping emissions can lead to high local ocean acidification

Strong acids formed from shipping emissions can produce seasonal ‘hot spots’ of ocean acidification, a recent study finds. These hot spots, in ocean areas close to busy shipping lanes, could have negative effects on local marine ecology and commercially farmed seafood species.




ocean acidification

Study: Ocean acidification disrupts food web

As acidic seawater forces shellfish to grow thinner shells, scientists warn of a ripple effect that could alter marine ecosystems around the planet.



  • Wilderness & Resources

ocean acidification

Ocean acidification may be fastest in 300 million years

The world's oceans are turning acidic even more rapidly than during a monster emission of planet-warming carbon 56 million years ago.



  • Wilderness & Resources

ocean acidification

What is ocean acidification, and why does it matter?

Carbon dioxide emissions are making the ocean more acidic. The lower pH level inhibits the ability of many marine plants and animals to build their shells and s



  • Climate & Weather

ocean acidification

CBD News: The Executive Secretary of the CBD invites you to participate in the peer review of the draft report of scientific synthesis on ocean acidification and its impacts on marine biodiversity and habitats. Please submit your comments and suggestions




ocean acidification

CBD Press Release: Ocean Acidification from CO2 Emissions Causes Substantial Irreversible Damage to Ocean Ecosystems.




ocean acidification

Ocean acidification prediction now possible years in advance

(University of Colorado at Boulder) CU Boulder researchers have developed a method that could enable scientists to accurately forecast ocean acidity up to five years in advance. This would enable fisheries and communities that depend on seafood negatively affected by ocean acidification to adapt to changing conditions in real time, improving economic and food security in the next few decades.




ocean acidification

Ozone Depletion Contributes to Ocean Acidification in the Southern Ocean

Forty percent: That is the share of annual oceanic carbon dioxide uptake accounted for by the Southern Ocean. Given that oceans comprise Earth's largest carbon sink, that is not an insignificant figure;