Oceans: never been so acid. Coral reefs are also at risk

Oceans have never been so acidic. Due to the very high levels of carbon dioxide, which has noticeably increased in recent years, several marine life forms are at risk of extinction.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

Oceans are not never been so sour. Because of the very high levels of carbon dioxide, which in recent years has increased significantly, different marine life forms are at risk of extinction.

This was revealed by an international study, coordinated by Professor Barbel Honisch della Columbia University and also published in the scientific journal "Science”, Which has reconstructed, for the first time, the dynamics of ocean acidification process, given by carbon dioxide, over the last 300 million years.

According to the scientists who conducted the research, i C02 levels in the oceans have never been higher: according to the data, in fact, the quantity of carbon dioxide present in ocean waters is unprecedented in history and apparently the phenomenon will continue to accentuate, with increasing speed, in the coming years. All of this it will lead to important consequences for life forms, which - to adapt to the new conditions - could radically transform or, in the worst case scenario, even become extinct.

"We know that life during past ocean acidification events has not been wiped out - commented Professor Honisch - new species have evolved to replace extinct ones. But if industrial carbon emissions continue at their current rate, we could lose organisms like coral reefs, oysters and salmon".

To better understand what's happening in ocean waters, you need to step back in time to 56 million years, to the period called Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (Petm): the researchers observed that in this era the carbon mysteriously doubled in the atmosphere over the of "only" 5.000 years. This resulted in a sudden increase in global average temperatures of about 6 degrees and a drastic one change in the ecological landscape, with the birth of new life forms in place of extinct ones.

And what happens today?
Over the past hundred years, atmospheric CO2 has increased by about 30% and oceanic pH has decreased by 0,1 units, with an acidification rate at least 10 times faster than to that of 56 million years ago!

A study that would therefore confirm the alarming forecasts of scientists in recent months. We cannot stand and watch.