Human-induced climate change is now a proven fact, no longer in doubt in the scientific community. Heat waves, droughts and floods, storms and hurricanes of unprecedented power are current manifestations of this ongoing climate change, where exceptional events are becoming more and more frequent. The increasing combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil, as well as deforestation for agriculture and urbanisation, are enlarging the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, warming the planet. Of the greenhouse gases produced by this combustion, carbon dioxide (CO2) is by far the most abundant.
Climate change is not the only consequence of rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Anthropogenic CO2 is also partly absorbed by the oceans, where it is transformed into carbonic acid, causing “ocean acidification”. This phenomenon really emerged in the scientific literature in the early 2000s, becoming one of the most studied topics in marine science over the last twenty years. Through its effects on water chemistry, ocean acidification has multiple consequences for the marine world and its inhabitants, and consequently for the biological resources on which we depend to live. However, ocean acidification, often referred to as “the other CO2 problem” in reference to global warming, remains largely unknown to the general public. The few times the media mention this phenomenon, it is to ask whether we will still be eating oysters in 2100! While this question is relevant, as it suggests that these animals are sensitive to acidification, it deserves to be considerably broadened. In other words, the idea is to understand not only the world we live from, but also the world we live in, so that we can face the new climate regime with lucidity and pragmatism.
The aim of this book is to take a comprehensive look at ocean acidification by answering ten simple questions. It reviews the biogeochemical foundations of acidification; past, current and future trends; impacts on organisms, marine ecosystems and humans; and finally, remediation options and scientific perspectives.
The problem of ocean acidification is transdisciplinary, and finds its answers in biogeochemistry, marine biology and ecology, evolution, aquaculture and fisheries, as well as economics and sociology. May this book make accessible to as many people as possible the magnitude of this little-known phenomenon, which is nonetheless essential to understanding future changes.
Pernet F. & Gazeau F., 2025. Ocean acidification: understanding the effects, exploring the solutions, 116 p. Versailles, Éditions Quæ. Book.
