Microscopic ocean plants and animals may consume increasing amounts of carbon as oceans become more acidic, a new experiment carried out in the narrow fjords of Norway suggests. Scientists know that the world’s oceans are becoming more acidic from the absorption of carbon dioxide from power plants, factories, and vehicles. Experiments have already shown that acidity could eat away at the shells of marine organisms and interfere with the physiology of others. But Ulf Riebesell of the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences in Germany found that when he exposed waters to the carbon dioxide levels of today and of those projected for 2100 and 2150, plankton – the community of tiny ocean plants and animals – consumed more carbon without consuming more nutrients. However, it’s unclear whether this type of plankton consumption will be able to help lower carbon levels in the ocean, reducing climate change.
The Boston Globe, 12 November 2007. Article.
