A U.S. study suggests ocean acidification changes from CO2 emissions are mostly independent of any temperature increase caused by the emissions.
The ocean plays a major role in the uptake of carbon dioxide emitted from fossil-fuel burning, helping to moderate future climate change. However, the addition of the gas to the ocean alters marine chemistry by increasing acidity, posing a threat to shelled organisms and their predators.
Long Cao of the University of Illinois and colleagues sought to quantify the effect of climate change on ocean acidity and on the calcium-carbonate minerals.
m&c, 22 March 2007. Article.
