Summary: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity released today a new study, Scientific Synthesis of the Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Biological Diversity.
According to the study, seas and oceans absorb approximately one quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and other human activities. As more and more carbon dioxide (CO2) has been emitted into the atmosphere, the oceans have absorbed greater amounts at increasingly rapid rates. Without this level of absorption by the oceans, atmospheric CO2 levels would be significantly higher than at present and the effects of global climate change would be more marked.
However, the absorption of atmospheric CO2 has resulted in changes to the chemical balance of the oceans, causing them to become more acidic. It is predicted that by 2050, ocean acidity could increase by 150%. This dramatic increase is 100 times faster than any change in acidity experienced in the marine environment over the last 20 million years, giving little time for evolutionary adaptation within biological systems.
Source: December 14, 2009 UNEP Press Release
More Information:
- The full press release is at http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=606&ArticleID=6417&l=en&t=long
- A pdf of the report is at http://www.cbd.int/doc/publications/cbd-ts-46-en.pdf
Prepared by: This message was distributed by Kellen Mahoney, who may be reached at e-mail: kmahoney@eetnews.com
