Increasing Ocean Acidification Threatens Marine Life
The increasing ocean acidification threatens marine life in known and unknown ways. The oceans are acidifying at the fastest rate in many millions of years. The absorption of CO2 by water causes acidification. This is a natural process, which forms carbonic acid (H2CO3). The breakdown of the carbonic acid results in the reduction of carbonate ions (CO3(2-)). To make a long story short, this process is making it difficult for sea creatures to form calcium, which is necessary for the formation of shells and bones. In some cases, the process actually dissolves existing shells of living organisms.
In a steady-state situation, the natural acidification process is nullified by the addition of carbonate. This carbonate comes from the erosion brought by rivers into the oceans. The process of increasing carbonates is known as buffering. Unfortunately, this steady-state has been disrupted by the drastic increase of CO2 in the atmosphere. The human use of fossil fuels has caused this increase.
In just the last 200 years the CO2 level in the atmosphere has gone from 284 ppm in 1820 to 414 ppm in 2020. This rapid increase has driven the acidity of the oceans up by about 30 percent in the period. A “safe” level of atmospheric CO2 is considered to be in the neighborhood of 350 ppm.
No Going Back
Regrettably, as in many things, there is no going back. Even if we stopped adding to the CO2 levels in the atmosphere it would take, according to some experts, hundreds of thousands of years to return to the steady-state, normalizing the acidity of the oceans.
While the situation seems dire there are some actions that we, as individuals, can take. Reducing our CO2 footprint is the best start. Drive less. Use public transportation. Buy an electric vehicle!
Most importantly, we must support scientists and researchers looking for ways to counteract the increasing ocean acidification which threatens marine life. We need to make sure that the governments we choose understand that human-caused CO2 increases are detrimental to the long term well being, and perhaps even survival, of the human race.