Acidified Ocean Water Widespread Along North American West Coast

photo: Tidepool organisms are threatened by acidification. (Credit: Jane Lubchenco)

A three-year survey of the California Current System along the West Coast of the United States found persistent, highly acidified water throughout this ecologically critical nearshore habitat, with “hotspots” of pH measurements as low as any oceanic surface waters in the world. (From Phys.org / by Mark Floyd) — The researchers say that conditions will continue to worsen because the atmospheric carbon dioxide primarily to blame for this increase in acidification has been rising substantially in recent years.

One piece of good news came out of the study, which was published this week in Scientific Reports. There are “refuges” of more moderate pH environments that could become havens for some marine organisms to escape more highly acidified waters, and which could be used as a resource for ecosystem management. “The threat of ocean acidification is global and though it sometimes seems far away, it is happening here right now on the West Coast of the United States and those waters are already hitting our beaches,” said Francis Chan, a marine ecologist at Oregon State University and lead author on the study. “The West Coast is very […]

Full article: Acidified Ocean Water Widespread Along North American West Coast

More about ocean acidification:

How About That Water Quality? Ocean Acidification

West Coast Ocean Acidification Rates Among Highest In World

Persistent spatial structuring of coastal ocean acidification in the California Current System

Oceans — Areas of Action