The effects of ocean acidification on marine organisms and ecosystem

Abstract

Ocean acidification is known as another global change problem caused by increasing atmospheric CO2. Since the industrial revolution, the oceans have absorbed more than one third of the anthropogenic CO2 released to the atmosphere, currently, at a rate of over 1 million tons per hour, totaling to about one quarter of all anthropogenic CO2 emissions annually. Uptake of CO2 by the ocean has played an important role in stabilizing climate by mitigating global warming. However, rising ocean carbon levels caused by the uptake of anthropogenic CO2 (acidic gas) leads to increased ocean acidity (reduced pH) and related changes in ocean carbonate chemistry, or “ocean acidification”. Recent research has shown that ocean acidification affects the physiology, growth, survival, and reproduction of many, if not most marine organisms. Ultimately, future ocean acidification may lead to significant changes in many marine ecosystems, with consequential impact on ecosystem services to societies. Several ocean acidification events are known to have occurred during Earths history, each coinciding with high rates of species extinctions. Although the mechanisms involved in past massive species extinction associated with ocean acidification events, they certainly hint potential disastrous impacts on ecosystem functions in short future.