C[O.sub.2] content of ocean water is rising precipitously.As if the oceans weren't already in deep enough trouble with their depleted de·plete tr.v. de·plet·ed, de·plet·ing, de·pletes To decrease the fullness of; use up or empty out. [Latin d fisheries, coastal pollution, dead zones, and rising water temperature, new research now finds that oceanic C[O.sub.2] is rising just as dramatically as atmospheric C[O.sub.2] is--with potential consequences too far-reaching for scientists yet to fully fathom. One of the likely effects, however, is that water near the surface will become increasingly acidic. The research, led by Christopher Sabine of the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA NOAA abbr. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Noun 1. NOAA - an agency in the Department of Commerce that maps the oceans and conserves their living resources; predicts changes to the earth's environment; ), found that the Earth's oceans have absorbed about 120 billion metric tons of carbon in the past century, most of it generated by the burning of coal, oil, and gas. The study was conducted at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Lab, with the results presented at a recent symposium of the UN's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission was established by resolution 2.31 adopted by the General Conference of Unesco. It first met in Paris at Unesco Headquarters from 19 to 27 October 1961. Initially, 40 States became members of the Commission. and the International Council for Science. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The study found that 20 to 25 million tons of carbon dioxide carbon dioxide, chemical compound, CO2, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is about one and one-half times as dense as air under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure. per day is now being absorbed by the oceans--a rate of change that has not been seen on this planet in more than 20 million years. The accumulation is occurring 100 times faster than that which occurred between the ice ages. While rising C[O.sub.2] concentrations in the atmosphere have been identified as a principal driver of global warming and climate change, oceanic C[O.sub.2] has received relatively little attention until now. But scientists speculate that the combination of global warming (including rising sea-water temperature) and the direct impacts of rising carbon content of the oceans will prove highly disruptive to marine life, beginning with the thousands of species of single-celled phytoplankton phytoplankton Flora of freely floating, often minute organisms that drift with water currents. Like land vegetation, phytoplankton uses carbon dioxide, releases oxygen, and converts minerals to a form animals can use. which live close to the surface. Phytoplankton such as the Emiliania huxleyi are the basis of the marine food chain, and while they are individually microscopic in size, they collectively outweigh all the fish, whales, and other oceanic creatures combined. Some analysts have advocated increasing oceanic sequestration sequestration In law, a writ authorizing a law-enforcement official to take into custody the property of a defendant in order to enforce a judgment or to preserve the property until a judgment is rendered. of C[O.sub.2] as a strategy for reducing atmospheric increases and mitigating climate change, but the discovery that oceanic absorption is already occurring at a breakneck break·neck adj. 1. Dangerously fast: a breakneck pace. 2. Likely to cause an accident: a breakneck curve. rate may force reconsideration of that notion. |
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