Arctic waters growing alarmingly acidic

http://sciencenordic.com/arctic-waters-growing-alarmingly-acidic

May 11, 2013

The seas of the world are becoming increasingly acidic and the Arctic is hardest hit.

Scientists think that by the year 2100 the Arctic Ocean will be twice as acidic as it is today.

Today, after three years of studies, the results have been presented at the AMAP International Conference on Arctic Ocean Acidification in Bergen. The main conclusions are:

The oceans are becoming more acidic. Marine acidification is the result of the seas absorbing huge amounts of CO2 caused by human activities.
In the past 200 years the average degree of acidity in ocean surface waters has increased 30 percent worldwide.
The ocean in the Arctic region is especially vulnerable. CO2 is more readily absorbed in cold water and the increasing flow of fresh water reduces the ocean’s capabilities of neutralising acidification.
In central areas of the ocean in the Arctic the acidification is more extensive, especially because surface water in these areas is so heavily affected.
As the food chains in the Arctic are relatively short and simple, marine ecosystems are succeptible to changes when external factors impact key species.

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He explains that the sea has done us all a great service in protecting the climate the last 200 years by acting as a carbon sink, absorbing huge amounts of CO2. The sea has absorbed about half the CO2 we have discharged since the industrial revolution and still takes about 25 percent.