An acidic ocean that disintegrates microscopic sea life might sound like “The Horror from the Deep,” the plot of a bad 1950s science fiction movie. It’s a scenario with chilling effects, including the destruction of pteropods, the zooplankton which feed salmon, cod, herring, mackerel and baleen whales.
Along with rising sea levels, warmer temperatures and shrinking glaciers, ocean acidification is another effect of increased carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere. Only recently have scientists begun to study the change in ocean chemistry caused by human-caused carbon emissions.
“This is a very young field,” said Dr. Jeff Short, an environmental chemist and adviser to the Alaska Marine Conservation Council. “It has only been widely appreciated in the last five years.”
HomerNews.com, Michael Armstrong, 28 March 2007. Article.
