Clipping Board » Environmental Pollution & Change ─ How dirty the human heart is, how dirty the environment will be...
Update Date: 2008/07/11 15:40
(Reuters Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, 10th)
Just like a tooth soaking in Coca-Cola, as climate change gradually acidifies the oceans, coral reefs, lobsters, and other hard-shelled marine organisms may soon dissolve.
Carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by factories, cars, and power plants not only raises temperatures but also leads to what scientists call "ocean acidification," as the oceans absorb 25% of the excess CO2.
Marine scientists meeting this week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for a coral reef conference stated that hard-shelled marine life is at risk, with coral reefs already struggling due to warming sea temperatures.
Chris Langdon, an assistant professor at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, said, "The tipping point for corals could be reached by the middle of this century... Once that happens, their reproduction may not keep up with the rate of destruction."
This is the latest instance of scientists warning the public about the reality that global warming will lower the ocean's pH due to the chemical reaction between seawater and carbon dioxide.
A pH of 7 is neutral. Historically, the ocean's pH has been around 8.2, but it has dropped by 0.1 since the industrial era began in 1800. Central News Agency (Translation)
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 080711/ 16/ 131d7. html
Ocean Acidification Threatens Coral Reefs
(Reuters Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, 10th)
Just like a tooth soaking in Coca-Cola, as climate change gradually acidifies the oceans, coral reefs, lobsters, and other hard-shelled marine organisms may soon dissolve.
Carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by factories, cars, and power plants not only raises temperatures but also leads to what scientists call "ocean acidification," as the oceans absorb 25% of the excess CO2.
Marine scientists meeting this week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for a coral reef conference stated that hard-shelled marine life is at risk, with coral reefs already struggling due to warming sea temperatures.
Chris Langdon, an assistant professor at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, said, "The tipping point for corals could be reached by the middle of this century... Once that happens, their reproduction may not keep up with the rate of destruction."
This is the latest instance of scientists warning the public about the reality that global warming will lower the ocean's pH due to the chemical reaction between seawater and carbon dioxide.
A pH of 7 is neutral. Historically, the ocean's pH has been around 8.2, but it has dropped by 0.1 since the industrial era began in 1800. Central News Agency (Translation)
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 080711/ 16/ 131d7. html