A study promoted by the University of Alaska, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has revealed that the acidity levels of surface waters in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, in the Arctic Ocean, are increasing alarmingly.
So much so, that by 2030 this phenomenon will prevent some aquatic animals that inhabit the area from developing the shells and exoskeletons that are part of their anatomy. According to the researchers who signed this essay, published in the journal Oceanography , the same circumstance could occur around 2044 in the Bering Sea.
“Within two decades, small sea snails to giant Alaskan crabs will no longer be able to build and maintain their shells, at least at certain times of the year,” says Jeremy Mathis, an oceanographer at NOAA. “Simply, these waters will not contain enough aragonite , the variety of calcium carbonate that they use for it, due to its increasing acidification. Over time, this process will affect the entire ocean ecosystem, ”he stresses.
To reach this conclusion, Mathis and his collaborators studied the changes in temperature, salinity and chemical composition of these Arctic seas during two research campaigns that lasted several months. From the data obtained, they designed a predictive model that determines the amount of calcium and carbonate ions that are dissolved in them. This is negatively affected by the aforementioned acidification, a phenomenon that has exploded in recent decades due to increased emissions of carbon dioxide, which end up being absorbed by the oceans.
