Ocean Acidification topped the list of concerns for a panel of marine scientists opening the annual Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Miami this week.
The topic was oceans, and when moderator Nancy Baron of the science education group, COMPASS asked the scientists to โTell us how it is, really,โ panelist and top NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco said that rapidly rising acidity in the ocean is a โhuge challenge.โ
An increasingly acidic ocean, she said, is sometimes referred to as โosteoporosis of the seaโ because it affects the โhard partsโ of organisms, causing shells to break down, or not form at all. This is not only lethal for the organisms themselves, she said, but it also disrupts the entire food chain. Lubchenco said new research is showing that rising acidity also affects organismsโ sense of smell and impacts reproduction. โThis is an unfolding story,โ she said. โThereโs a lot we donโt know.โ
Lubchenco said more research and monitoring is needed, but thatโs unlikely to happen in this tough economic climate. She recommended that action be taken at the local level to reduce runoff into the sea, particularly nitrogen pollution, and to prevent overfishing and invasive species. But the only long-term solution, she said, is for the world to reduce carbon emissions.
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