Univ. of Chicago scientists have determined that the ocean is growing more acidic faster than anyone previously thought. They also claim the increased ocean acidity is tied to increased levels of atmospheric CO2, and have published a paper about their research at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This image of Tatoosh Island off Washington state is where the study was conducted. They discovered that the number of mussels and stalked barnacles fell whenever ocean acidity increased. Under those same conditions, populations of smaller, shelled species and non-calcareous algae increased.

“Many sea creatures have shells or skeletons made of calcium carbonate, which the acid can dissolve. Therefore, the increased acidity of the ocean could interfere with many critical ocean processes such as coral reef building or shellfish harvesting.” – Catherine Pfister, Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago and a co-author of the study.

For an idea of how desperate our CO2 emission problem is, I included this mock-up image for a wake-up call to our government.