UKOA at climate change talks
29th November 2010
The UK Ocean Acidification Research Programme (UKOA), with
support from Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the European
Project on Ocean Acidification (EPOCA), has sent a team of
three to the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP16),
held in Cancún (Mexico) over the next two weeks. The group led by
Dr Carol Turley, is determined to increase awareness of the impact
of climate change and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions on
the world’s oceans. The oceans cover three quarters of the planet’s
surface, occupy more than 90% of its living space and provide food
for billions of people. The health of the world’s oceans are
essential to the wellbeing of humans, yet ocean acidification is
still not a major item on the agenda during climate change
talks.
Ocean acidification is the name given to the ongoing decrease in
the pH of
the earth's oceans, caused by their uptake of CO2
from the atmosphere. By the first decade of the 21st century the
net change in ocean pH levels represented an increase of some 30%
in acidity in the world's oceans since the Industrial Revolution;
ocean acidification has become known as ‘climate change’s evil
twin’ and is another consequence of our continuous use of fossil
fuels, changes in land use and other industrial processes leading
to greater carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. Normally,
the vast oceans would help to absorb CO2, assisting in
slowing the progress of global warming. However, it is clear that
our oceans have absorbed as much CO2 as they safely can
and are now becoming adversely affected. The chemistry behind ocean
acidification is straightforward: add CO2 to water
and a weak acid is formed. The ocean has not become an acid, but it
has moved a step closer and scientists believe that this change is
going to affect species and habitats across the world, ultimately
impacting on much of the seafood we eat, and particularly affecting
the nations who rely on seafood as their primary source of
protein.
“We now know far more about ocean acidification and there is
already enough evidence to warrant very serious concern”, says Dr
Turley, senior scientist at PML. “Laboratory experiments are
showing that creatures which make skeletons or shells from calcium
carbonate are likely to have difficulty in growing these essential
structures. So far, adult fish seem not to be affected too much,
but their eggs and larvae and the plankton amongst which they live
are potential casualties as the move towards acidity increases”,
continued Dr Turley. “There are too many unknown elements for us to
feel comfortable. We don’t know how marine animals may adapt to
cope with these chemical changes; whether they can evolve new forms
more suitable to the changed conditions, or whether they will
simply perish, leaving large gaps in ecosystems. We need to
understand these things and the first step will be to rally
scientists, stakeholders and politicians to recognise that ocean
acidification is real, it is happening now, and it is likely to
have significant effects.”
“There is a growing interest from the
scientific community; increasingly governments, including the UK
through its Ocean Acidification Research Programme (UKOARP) are
supporting the science that is necessary to fully understand the
phenomenon and its effects,” said Dr Carol Turley. “At last year’s
meeting in Copenhagen, we made significant progress in highlighting
the ocean acidification issue: this year we are determined to build
upon this success through working with colleagues from the USA.
Ocean acidification has the potential to impact all of our lives,
and whilst scientists across the world are working to understand
what the impacts might be, it is essential that simultaneously
those who make decisions on our behalf are aware of the possible
consequences.