Acidic Oceans

From the Daily Green:

Carbon dioxide emissions could shake “the biological underpinnings of civilization” as increasingly acidic water undermines the oceanic food web, according to fresh research from the Pacific Ocean off Alaska.

The research shows that increasingly acidic Pacific water will affect king crabs and a snail that is a favorite food of Pacific salmon. How disruptions in the ocean food web could ultimately harm these and other popular food species is still uncertain.

The Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard will hear testimony today on the acidification of oceans from private, government and environmental group scientists.

Oceans had until recently been viewed as a great savior of the climate, because they have absorbed about one third of the carbon humans have emitted, buffering what would otherwise have been a greater warming of the atmosphere. But scientists have in recent years begun studying the consequences of oceanic carbon storage - a 25 percent increase in acidity since pre-industrial times.

The scientific endeavor is still young, with many unanswered questions. But results have shifted from showing that the ocean has grown more acidic to showing how that acidification is affecting ocean life, including species important for human food.

“We’re starting to see now a real connection to fisheries,” said Christopher Sabine, a National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration scientist involved in the North American Carbon Project’s effort to understand the role of carbon in the oceans...

Also from the Associated Press:

An algae bloom in Southern California coastal waters has produced record levels of a toxic acid, scientists reported Wednesday. The chemical has been blamed in the deaths of numerous marine mammals and seabirds in recent months.

Measurements from four coastal stations last month found the highest domoic acid concentrations at 27 micrograms per liter, said David Caron of the University of Southern California.

"I have never seen these kind of numbers before," Caron said.
Last year, the highest levels stood at 12 micrograms per liter.

Recent measurements taken this month found the toxin levels had substantially declined, suggesting the seasonal algae bloom may have peaked, Caron said.

--- The article goes on to suggest that the toxic acid is "natural" - as if pollution and all of the CO2 that the oceans are absorbing is "natural". But then the article continues:

"NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency that oversees ocean fishing, has deemed the recent deaths of common dolphins and whales in California an "unusual mortality event." This would allow the agency to pour resources into determining what was causing the die-off.