Environmental News Network - Acidity of Antarctic Waters Could Double by Century’s End, Threatening Biodiversity

Details: By University of Colorado at Boulder; 10.Jan

The acidity of Antarctica’s coastal waters could double by the end of the century, threatening whales, penguins and hundreds of other species that inhabit the Southern Ocean, according to new CU Boulder research.

Julie Swatson

The acidity of Antarctica’s coastal waters could double by the end of the century, threatening whales, penguins and hundreds of other species that inhabit the Southern Ocean, according to new CU Boulder research.

Scientists projected that by 2100, the upper 650 feet (200 meters) of the ocean—where much marine life resides—could see more than a 100% increase in acidity compared with 1990s levels. The paper, appeared Jan. 4 in the journal Nature Communications.

“The findings are critical for our understanding of the future evolution of marine ecosystem health,” said Nicole Lovenduski, the paper’s co-author and the interim director of CU Boulder’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR).

Photo Credit: waagefr via Pixabay

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Acidity of Antarctic Waters Could Double by Century’s End, Threatening Biodiversity