In recent years, due to increasing carbon emissions, climate change has only been getting worse, thereby worsening various biomes, especially the ocean.
A new study conducted by the U.K.’s Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) has found that Earth’s oceans are becoming more acidic as a consequence of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
This same study found that the ocean’s health has been deteriorating far more than expected, and that ocean acidity levels may have reached a “danger zone” five years ago, in 2020.
What is ocean acidification?
Ocean acidification happens when the ocean rapidly absorbs carbon dioxide from the environment, which reacts with the water molecules and causes a drop in the pH level of the seawater.
This can be extremely harmful to parts of the ocean environment, such as the coral reefs, and in the worst case scenario, dissolve the shells of marine creatures.
Planetary Boundaries
The planetary boundaries are frameworks that suggest limits to the impact of human activity on different Earth systems.
Crossing these boundaries would result in the environment being unable to self-regulate.
This would mean that the Earth systems move out of the stability of the Holocene, the epoch in which most of human society has developed.
The new study by PML suggests that the planetary boundary may now be breached, having crossed the estimated 19% aragonite decline.
Aragonite is a mineral made up of calcium carbonate and is often found in shells of marine organisms and skeletons of corals.
The increased acidity in the ocean due to acidification breaks carbonate bonds, reducing the supply of a key mineral needed for marine species to grow and survive.
Consequences of Acidification
Ocean acidification could destabilise the marine ecosystem by disrupting the food chain and other processes, which would thereby deter coastal economies.
It would also impact food security for many coastal populations who are large in number around the world.
What about the future?
If carbon emissions are not controlled, ocean acidification will only continue to pose severe threats to the ecosystem and the global environment as a whole.
It is imperative to work on the environment such that the world’s ecosystems, not just the ocean, remain in check and within the stability of the Holocene.