Researcher finds higher acidity in Alaska ocean waters(Global Warming)

[RamboLiberal]

Erosion threatens to topple coastal Alaska villages. Melting ice threatens polar bears. Now, a scientist says the state's marine waters are turning acidic from absorbing greenhouse gases faster than tropical waters, potentially endangering Alaska's $4.6 billion fishing industry.

The same things that make Alaska's marine waters among the most productive in the world -- cold, shallow depths and abundant marine life -- make them the most vulnerable to acidification, said Jeremy Mathis, a chemical oceanographer at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

"Ecosystems in Alaska are going to take a hit from ocean acidification," he said. "Right now, we don't know how they are going to respond."

Alaska has already seen more than its share of global warming effects: shrinking glaciers, coastal erosion, the march north of destructive forest beetles formerly held in check by cold winters, melting Arctic Ocean ice that also threatens walrus and other marine mammals.

Ocean acidification, the lowering of basicity and the increase in acidity of marine waters, is tied to increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

http://www.adn.com/news/environment/warming/story/909455.html

[OKIsItJustMe]

1. See here…

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=205188&mesg_id=205188

[Chemisse]

2. Cold water holds more dissolved gases than warm water

That's why your soda keeps its carbonation longer in the fridge.

And that's why the cold polar waters can hold more CO2, so become more acidic.

It's ironic that the areas with almost no people living and polluting there are the ones that suffer the most damage from global warming.