HEPR: Ocean Acidification
 Approximately 30-50% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions are absorbed by
the world’s oceans. Increased CO2 uptake by the oceans is expected to
reduce surface ocean pH by 0.3 – 0.5 units over the next century, which
would be the largest change in pH to occur in the last 20-200 million years.
Ocean acidification likely will impact the ability of marine calcifiers, such
as corals and mollusks, to make shells and skeletons from calcium carbonate.
Ocean acidification may indirectly affect fish and marine mammal species through
reduced abundance of marine calcifiers at the base of the food web. In addition,
ocean acidification may elicit broad physiological and ecological responses
from non-calcifying organisms through less obvious pathways ranging from internal
CO2 concentrations of marine animals to coldwater corals that provide shelter
for structure-oriented species such as rockfish.
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