Fact Friday

The ocean absorbs much of the excess carbon dioxide produced from the burning of fossil fuels.  As the ocean absorbs this rampant increase in CO2, it reacts with sea water, changing the ocean’s chemistry.  This process is called ocean acidification, and we are already seeing the negative impacts in our oceans.  Here you can see the shell of the pteropod exposed to ocean acidification on the right is weaker and has visible damage, making it harder for the animal to survive.

Image credit: NOAA 

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Meet Renée Carlton, marine ecologist at the Khaled Bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. She has studied the effects of climate change and ocean acidification on coral reefs all over the world—from the Florida Keys to islands in the South Pacific. She is especially interested in sharing marine science with communities around the world so they can effectively conserve their marine resources. She loves scuba diving, and her favorite ocean animal is a hermit crab.