Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses

When carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, gradually lowering the ocean's pH in a process called ocean acidification — a measurable consequence of rising atmospheric CO2 that has accelerated sharply since industrialization. Researchers track how this chemical shift affects marine organisms, particularly calcifying species like corals, oysters, and pteropods, whose shells and skeletons become harder to build and easier to dissolve in more acidic conditions. A central open question is how these stresses compound with warming, deoxygenation, and other pressures to reshape entire ecosystems, including the food webs that billions of people depend on for protein. Active work focuses on which species and populations may adapt through evolutionary or physiological mechanisms, and whether the pace of acidification leaves enough time for such responses to emerge.

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Keywords

Ocean AcidificationMarine OrganismsCO2 EmissionsCalcifying OrganismsEcosystem ImpactsSeawater pH