Earth Day 2010 Post – Ocean Acidification
While policy debate about global warming often focuses on air temperature and climate change, the rising amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is transforming life in our planet’s oceans. Oceans absorb a substantial amount of the CO2 put into the atmosphere, which leads to lower pH levels in seawater. This acidification of the ocean has consequences for marine plant and animal life. My brother-in-law, Brian Gaylord, an Associate Professor of Evolution and Ecology at the University of California-Davis, is currently working on a research project to study the effects of ocean acidification on shelled invertebrates. NSF recently posted a slideshow detailing this work and discussing the consequences of increased ocean acidification. Brian and his research team find evidence that lower pH levels significantly affect the development and growth of shelled marine organisms such as oysters. But don’t just take my word for it – both MSNBC and Good Morning America thought it an important study to cover today.