Scientists from Bristol University presenting at a three-day climate summit in Copenhagen have found the intensifying acidification of the world’s seas are creating conditions not seen since the age of the dinosaurs — and introducing huge new stresses on marine populations. Scientists liken the current acidification — which is being provoked by global carbon emissions — to a prehistoric release of greenhouse gases that led to acidification so severe it prompted widespread extinction of deep-water species. The report finds the current future rate of surface ocean acidification to be unprecedented for nearly 65 million years, with conditions even worse for the deep sea.
SmartBrief, 10 March 2009. Article.
