Unprecedented rate and scale of ocean acidification found in the Arctic

[Judi Lynn]

Unprecedented rate and scale of ocean acidification found in the Arctic
by Staff Writers
St. Petersburg FL (SPX) Sep 20, 2013

Acidification of the Arctic Ocean is occurring faster than projected according to new findings published in the journal PLoS One. The increase in rate is being blamed on rapidly melting sea ice, a process that may have important consequences for health of the Arctic ecosystem.

Ocean acidification is the process by which pH levels of seawater decrease due to greater amounts of carbon dioxide being absorbed by the oceans from the atmosphere.

Currently oceans absorb about one-fourth of the greenhouse gas. Lower pH levels make water more acidic and lab studies have shown that more acidic water decrease calcification rates in many calcifying organisms, reducing their ability to build shells or skeletons. These changes, in species ranging from corals to shrimp, have the potential to impact species up and down the food web.

The team of federal and university researchers found that the decline of sea ice in the Arctic summer has important consequences for the surface layer of the Arctic Ocean. As sea ice cover recedes to record lows, as it did late in the summer of 2012, the seawater beneath is exposed to carbon dioxide, which is the main driver of ocean acidification.

More:
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Unprecedented_rate_and_scale_of_ocean_acidification_found_in_the_Arctic_999.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Warming ocean thawing Antarctic glacier, researchers say

Warming ocean thawing Antarctic glacier, researchers say
September 19, 2013

Fairbanks, Alaska- For the first time, researchers completed an extensive exploration of how quickly ice is melting underneath a rapidly changing Antarctic glacier, possibly the biggest source of uncertainty in global sea level projections.


Martin Truffer, a physics professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Tim Stanton, an oceanographer with the Naval Postgraduate School, were able to look underneath the Pine Island Glacier on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and take exact measurements of the undersea melting process.


"This particular site is crucial, because the bottom of the ice in that sector of Antarctica is grounded well below sea level and is particularly vulnerable to melt from the ocean and break up," said Truffer, a researcher with UAF's Geophysical Institute. "I think it is fair to say that the largest potential sea level rise signal in the next century is going to come from this area."


Their measurements show that, at some locations, warm ocean water is eating away at the underside of the ice shelf at more than two inches per day. This leads to a thinning of the ice shelf and the eventual production of huge icebergs, one of which just separated from the ice shelf a few months ago.


More:
http://www.brightsurf.com/news/headlines/89197/Warming_ocean_thawing_Antarctic_glacier_researchers_say_.html

[chervilant]

2. Jellyfish will continue to thrive in these conditions,

and further upset the delicate balance of our ecosystem.

[lonestarnot]

3. Poor polar bears.