“The other carbon dioxide problem”, “the evil twin of global warming”, or part of a “deadly trio”, together with increasing temperatures and loss of oxygen: Many names have been coined to describe the problem of ocean acidification – a change in the ocean chemistry that occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere dissolves in seawater. On the one hand, the ocean’s CO2 uptake slows down global climate change. On the other, this absorption affects the life and material cycles of the ocean – and all those who depend on it.
Between 2009 and 2017, the German research network BIOACID (Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification) investigated how different marine species respond to ocean acidification, how these reactions impact the food web as
well as material cycles and energy turnover in the ocean, and what consequences these changes have for economy and society.
More than 250 members of 20 German research institutes, representing a broad range of marine science disciplines, participated in the project coordinated by GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. BIOACID contributed to the scientific discourse on ocean acidification through more than 580 peer-reviewed publications. Throughout three funding phases, the German Ministry of Education and Research supported the project with a total of 22 million Euros.
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BIOACID, October 2017. Brochure.
