Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in ocean pH caused primarily by uptake of anthropogenic CO₂ from the atmosphere, leading to shifts in the seawater carbonate system. Dissolved CO₂ forms carbonic acid, which dissociates to release hydrogen ions and convert carbonate ions to bicarbonate, reducing carbonate saturation states critical for calcifying organisms (e.g., corals, coccolithophores, mollusks). Research focuses on quantifying pH and aragonite/calcite saturation changes, organismal and ecosystem responses, biogeochemical feedbacks, and interactions with other stressors such as warming and deoxygenation, using observations, laboratory experiments, mesocosms, and Earth system models.
The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99% of the world's oceans, raising concerns for its $2 billion-a-year American lobster fishery. Scientists at William & Mary's Batten School & VIMS have been studying the impacts of ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 3, 2025
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A large proportion of the carbon dioxide emissions that are currently being released into the atmosphere by human activities are absorbed by the surface ocean, making it more acidic. As a result, the tiny organisms (plankton), ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 1, 2025
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Humans are gambling on the very stability of Earth's life support systems, scientists said Wednesday, warning that ocean acidity was yet another key planetary threshold to be breached.
Environment
Sep 24, 2025
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Sharks can famously replace their teeth, with new ones always growing as they're using up the current set. As sharks rely on their teeth to catch prey, this is vital to the survival of one of the oceans' top predators.
Plants & Animals
Aug 27, 2025
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Each year, billions upon billions of tons of CO2 are pumped into the atmosphere. A significant proportion of this ends up in Earth's oceans, where it can react with water to form carbonic acid, which causes ocean acidification.
Earth Sciences
Aug 20, 2025
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Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere enters the ocean at the surface and has been increasing the acidity of Pacific waters since the beginning of the industrial revolution over 200 years ago. A new study, led by University of ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 19, 2025
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A research team from the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) has published a study in Communications Biology showing how ocean acidification and warming—two of the main consequences of global climate change—can simultaneously ...
Ecology
Aug 12, 2025
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An international study by marine scientists based in Singapore has revealed that sea-level rise in the Indian Ocean began accelerating far earlier than previously thought, with corals providing an unbroken natural record ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 12, 2025
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The Gulf of Maine—home to commercial fisheries for oysters, clams and mussels—has unexpectedly avoided an increase in seawater acidity, helping to preserve the health of its fisheries.
Earth Sciences
Jul 30, 2025
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Across the globe, oceans are acidifying as they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, threatening coral reefs and many other marine organisms.
Environment
Jul 14, 2025
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