[Vision2020] Scientists Find ‘Acidified’ Ocean Water From Canada to Mexico

[Ted Moffett]

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/20080522_oceanacid.html

May 22, 2008

Evidence of corrosive water caused by the ocean's absorption of carbon
dioxide (CO2) was found less than 20 miles off the west coast of North
America during a field study from Canada to Mexico last summer. This was the
first time "acidified" ocean water has been found on the continental shelf
of western North America.

The term "ocean acidification" describes the process of ocean water becoming
corrosive as a result of carbon dioxide being absorbed from the atmosphere.

"Acidification of the Earth's ocean water could have far-reaching impacts on
the health of our near-shore environment, and on the sustainability of
ecosystems that support human populations through nourishment and jobs,"
said Richard W. Spinrad, NOAA assistant administrator for oceanic and
atmospheric research. "This research is vital to understanding the processes
within the ocean, as well as the consequences of a carbon-rich atmosphere."

The findings will be published May 22 in the online journal *Science Express
*. "Evidence for Upwelling of Corrosive 'Acidified' Water onto the
Continental Shelf" was written by Richard A. Feely and Christopher Sabine,
both oceanographers at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental
Laboratory<http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/>in Seattle, Wash. Their
co-authors are J. Martin Hernandez-Ayon of the
Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanologicas from the University of Baja
California, Mexico; Debby Ianson of Fisheries and Oceans Canada in Sidney,
British Columbia, and Burke Hales, of Oregon State University College of
Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Corvallis, Ore.

"Our findings represent the first evidence that a large section of the North
American continental shelf is seasonally impacted by ocean acidification,"
said Feely. "This means that ocean acidification may be seriously impacting
marine life on our continental shelf right now."

"While this absorption provides a great service to humans by significantly
reducing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and decreasing the
effects of global warming, the change in the ocean chemistry affects marine
life, particularly organisms with calcium carbonate shells, such as corals,
mussels, mollusks, and small creatures in the early stages of the food
chain," said Feely.

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"We did not expect to see this extent of ocean acidification until the
middle to the end of the century," said Sabine. "Because of this effort, we
have a baseline for future observations as we continue to study and monitor
the relationship of biological and physical processes and their ability to
respond to ocean acidification."

"When the upwelled water was last at the surface, it was exposed to an
atmosphere with much less CO2 than today and future upwelled waters will
probably be more acidic than today's because of increasing atmospheric CO2,"
said Hales, a professor of chemical oceanography, who is also funded by
NASA.

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Vision2020 Post:Ted Moffett
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