How humans have affected the oceans acidity

Fossil Fuel Burning Releases CO2 to the Atmosphere which Promotes Global Climate Change and Ocean Acidification

  • Man-made global emissions of CO2 are increasing the acidity of oceans
Vehicles and industries generate CO2 and other atmospheric pollutants that promote global warming and ocean acidification
  • Scientists monitor atmospheric CO2 levels at several locations around the world and have observed such increase since the 1960s
Mauna Loa Observatory Atmospheric CO2 levels

Predictions on the Decrease in pH of the Oceans

  • Several studies have predicted the global pH changes of the Oceans in the next 80 years according to different scenarios (e.g., Andersson et al., 2003; Orr et al., 2005; Ying et al., 2012)
  • Most find that the global surface pH of the oceans will decrease, with changes ranging between 0.1 to 0.35 pH unit by 2100 depending on the concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere (Yang et al., 2012)