More Acidic Oceans Threatening Entire Ecosystems

You can’t see it above the surface, and that’s a big problem, because what’s happening below the surface is like an ongoing disaster.

Until now, the ocean has been our great savior, absorbing almost all the excess energy we’ve released. But there’s a limit to what the ocean can absorb, and it seems like we’ve exceeded it now.

“ticking time bomb”

When the ocean absorbs the carbon dioxide we emit, it reacts with the water molecules and the pH value of the water drops – the water becomes more acidic. Scientists refer to this as the climate crisis’s “evil twin” and say that what is happening right now is a “ticking time bomb.”

According to a new study, led jointly by Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) in the UK, NOAA, CIMERS, Oregon State University’s Co-operative Institute (OSU), and the University of Maryland, ocean acidity has now reached such critical levels that it threatens entire ecosystems.

The ocean is in worse condition than we thought

The ocean is in worse shape than we previously thought, say the researchers in the study, warning that we are running out of time if we are to save marine ecosystems.

This is where we run into problems because we cannot see what is happening on the surface. Despite the warnings and alarm bells from researchers, surprisingly few people really seem to care. And it is partly because of this massive lack of interest from the outside world that researchers are calling what is happening a “ticking time bomb.” A bomb that is not only threatening to explode, but will explode—unless radical action is taken now.

We have already passed the critical levels

The study was conducted by compiling both new and purely historical measurements from ice cores, which were then used to create advanced data models. Studies of various marine life were added to this, providing a good picture of what has happened in the ocean over the past 150 years.

The results show that ocean acidification is increasing at an alarming rate and has already passed a critical threshold for the health of the planet.

The planetary boundaries

We only have one Earth with one ocean, and there are limits to how much they can be exposed to without consequences for all life on our planet. There are nine so-called “planetary boundaries” that we must adhere to, and according to a study from 2023, we have already exceeded six of them. Ocean acidification was not one of them. This is all the more alarming now that scientists say we have also crossed the line when it comes to ocean acidification.

Save the ocean – to save ourselves

This is bad news for most animals and plants in the ocean, but perhaps especially bad for those that build their outer protection using a shell. More acidic water makes it harder for all calcifying species, such as corals and oysters, to maintain their protective structures. Growth slows down, reproduction declines, and animals find it harder to survive.

So, even though we cannot see what is happening down there, scientists believe that the situation has now reached a point where we must take drastic and immediate action to save the ocean if we also want to save ourselves.

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