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The Sunday Age
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“Why is global warming's ‘evil twin’, ocean acidification, almost entirely ignored in public policy debate on carbon pollution reduction? Is it not the case that once acidity levels in the water reaches a certain point, shellfish cannot produce their shells? Mussels, oysters, shrimps, krill, crabs and lobsters are all threatened, and by extension the entire food chain they are a part of. No computer models are necessary to assess this. Are we not ignoring this problem at the peril of our national dish? Isn’t ocean acidification enough on its own to justify urgent action on CO2 emissions?”

user picture Daniel Wilson · 2 years ago · 1 votes · 1 comments
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In the Cambrian period, ~500 million years ago, atmospheric CO2 concentration was ~7,000 ppmv – 18 times today’s (IPCC, 2001). In the Jurassic period, ~175 million years ago, atmospheric CO2 concentration was ~6,000 ppmv, – 15 times today’s (IPCC, 2001). Henry’s Law and CO2 partial pressure would have seen vastly greater amounts of CO2 dissolved in the oceans during these geological periods. This would have resulted in ‘ocean acidification’ much higher than today. Yet, during the Cambrian period, corals and shellfish first appeared. During the Jurassic period, coral reefs started to form in the warm seas. In fact, these geological periods of very high atmospheric CO2 concentration have never been a problem for the ocean’s biota.
Ivan D · 2 years ago
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