Acidification of the seas linked to climate change could threaten fisheries production and is already causing the fastest shift in ocean chemistry in 65 million years. Production of shellfish, such as mussels, shrimp or lobsters could be the most at risk since they will find it harder to build protective shells. It could also damage coral reefs vital as nurseries for many commercial fish stocks. About a billion people worldwide rely on fish as their main source of protein. Ocean acidification is yet another red flag being raised carrying planetary healthy warnings about the uncontrolled growth in greenhouse gas emissions. About 25% of the world's emissions of carbon dioxide are absorbed by the seas, where it is converted to carbonic acid. The pH value of the oceans, a scale from alkaline to acidic, has fallen 30 percent since the Industrial Revolution in a shift to acidity. There is constantly news about how the oceans are suffering due to global warming and pollution that goes in the water. A recent article in National Graphic indicated that we are slowly running out of seafood and this just shows how the pH is also being affected. Obviously if the water's pH is affected, the organisms can't survive in that acidic environment. We'll just have to wait and see what the consequences of the water's acidity are.
Link to site: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B16MD20101202
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