Elizabeth Claire.(2022, September 13).Acid test: Are the world’s oceans becoming too ‘acidic’ to support life? Mongbay https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/acid-test-are-the-worlds-oceans-becoming-too-acidic-to-support-life/ 

 

Human carbon emissions cause ocean acidification, which affects the ability of marine animals such as oysters, to form shells and reproduce. The process also slows the growth of corals and increases the impacts of marine heat waves. Ocean acidification is considered one of the nine planetary boundaries responsible for regulating and maintaining Earth’s functionality. Crossing the threshold of these boundaries could lead to a dangerous state that supports less biological life. Jeopardizing the ability of calcifying organisms to build shells and skeletons could have a horrible effect on the global climate, because calcium carbonate stores carbon. If carbon sequestration is stopped, then the atmospheric concentration of CO2 can increase. Ocean acidification has numerous thresholds, depending on the marine species, ocean ecosystem, or region involved, and the catastrophe doesn’t happen all at once, but happens gradually. If carbon emissions are not curbed and we continue along the same path, global average ocean pH levels could drop to roughly 7.7 by 2100, a level that the planet has not experienced for the past 21 million years. It also risks compromising the planet’s ability to function. This will happen when aragonite saturation levels are at 80% of what they were in preindustrial times. Although the global boundary for ocean acidification has not yet been breached, this threshold is being crossed at many different regions.

 

This article is really more of a wake-up call for humanity because it shows us how ocean acidification is already affecting not only marine life, but also human life. Absorbing all that CO2 led the ocean to become more acidic, which is killing the wildlife in our oceans. This could affect us as we could get seriously sick from the fish we eat, which could lead to a lower supply of seafood. Additionally, the death of millions of sea animals will seriously disrupt earth’s overall ecosystem. Thankfully, at the end of the article, the author mentions that we are not at the point where the impact is permanent, so there’s still a chance for us to make a positive change.