Ocean acidification is approaching a new critical phase, scientists warn

[Alfonso Maruccia]

TL;DR: A new report on planetary boundaries indicates that we are nearing a dangerous threshold that could render Earth's environment unsustainable for human life. Ocean waters are rapidly decreasing in pH levels, with acidification posing a significant threat to marine ecosystems.

According to the latest study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), ocean acidification is approaching a critical threshold. The researchers warn that the seventh planetary boundary has almost been breached, making it extremely difficult, or even impossible, to maintain the environmental balance that has supported human civilization for thousands of years.

Planetary boundary science was established in 2009 by Johan Rockström and other PIK scientists. This framework describes the impact of human activities on Earth's biosphere, identifying specific thresholds beyond which the environment may be unable to self-regulate. If all nine planetary boundaries are breached, the period of stability that humankind has enjoyed during the Holocene will likely be replaced by very different – and extremely hostile – planetary conditions.

The nine systems described by PIK's planetary framework include the following boundaries: climate change; the introduction of novel entities into the ecosystem (synthetic chemicals); depletion of the ozone layer in the stratosphere; increase in atmospheric aerosol; ocean acidification; biogeochemical flows; freshwater changes; land system changes; and biosphere integrity.

According to the latest report, ocean acidification is now almost beyond the point of no return. The oceans are absorbing increasing amounts of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, especially at higher latitudes, and this process poses an existential threat to calcifying organisms. Entire food systems could break down, and the ocean's efficiency as a carbon sink would be diminished accordingly.

Ocean acidification and biosphere integrity are deeply interconnected, warned PIK climate physicist Levke Caesar. Several new studies published over the past few years suggest that even the current conditions of oceanic waters could be considered "problematic" and essentially unsafe for various marine organisms.

Caesar stated that "one of the main messages of our report is that all nine planetary boundaries are highly interconnected." The nine issues described in the planetary framework should be viewed as parts of a single environmental problem because Earth's systems are constantly interacting, and any change in one area affects the others.

Researchers have indicated that the planet's health is at such risk that scientists must work harder to convey this message to a larger audience. PIK researchers are now committing to publishing new measurements of planetary boundaries' thresholds every year, producing reports that are accessible to a broader audience rather than academics alone.

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Ocean acidification is approaching a new critical phase, scientists warn

 

[m4a4]

2 non-tech, baity articles in 1 day? Can we not?

 

[Kirby1]

2 non-tech, baity articles in 1 day? Can we not?

So you like tech but hate science?

Are facts "baity", or do you just call it that if it's facts you don't want to accept as true?

 

[NumberNine]

This rightfully alarming article is useless to show to the everyday average person unless your goal is driving engagement through fear.

Pass this info upwards to the rich important people, corporations, and government officials. What's that you say? They don't care?

Well then as a technician, I'd say we've identified the root cause.

 

[Kirby1]

This rightfully alarming article is useless to show to the everyday average person unless your goal is driving engagement through fear.

Pass this info upwards to the rich important people, corporations, and government officials. What's that you say? They don't care?

Well then as a technician, I'd say we've identified the root cause.

As the article says, leaders/politicians are not doing enough so they want to make the information more available and accessible to everyone. That way, perhaps people will vote for leaders that take this stuff more seriously.

 

[Dimitrios]

As the article says, leaders/politicians are not doing enough so they want to make the information more available and accessible to everyone. That way, perhaps people will vote for leaders that take this stuff more seriously.

Oh man you don't get it. Can someone sum up how real life works and how most elites / politicians don't care and have promised we would run out of oil and by hundreds of times and how Kerry said the world would end back in the 1980's then he said it in the late 90's then again in the 2000's and what others have predicted but never happen. Look up Bill gates and other's that have machines that are actually being used to make our planet warmer. It's a grift. Sorry for the bad grammar I'm trying to do 10 things and just had to chime in fast.

 

[Kirby1]

Oh man you don't get it. Can someone sum up how real life works and how most elites / politicians don't care and have promised we would run out of oil and by hundreds of times and how Kerry said the world would end back in the 1980's then he said it in the late 90's then again in the 2000's and what others have predicted but never happen. Look up Bill gates and other's that have machines that are actually being used to make our planet warmer. It's a grift. Sorry for the bad grammar I'm trying to do 10 things and just had to chime in fast.

"look up Bill Gates" lol.

The battle cry of the delusional mind.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

So you like tech but hate science?

Are facts "baity", or do you just call it that if it's facts you don't want to accept as true?

Planetary boundaries are not part of science but a "framework" meant to influence politicians: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_boundaries

It assumes we have accurate knowledge of how Earth changed 12,000 years ago (historical sciences are by definition always going to be incomplete). It also assumes how Earth will change if crossing these arbitrary thresholds (there is not even scientific consensus on these).

It's funny that you just blindly accept what's presented to you as "facts" and then tell people they hate science and can't accept it. Science is the exact opposite of what you're suggesting.

 

[kiwigraeme]

Oh man you don't get it. Can someone sum up how real life works and how most elites / politicians don't care and have promised we would run out of oil and by hundreds of times and how Kerry said the world would end back in the 1980's then he said it in the late 90's then again in the 2000's and what others have predicted but never happen. Look up Bill gates and other's that have machines that are actually being used to make our planet warmer. It's a grift. Sorry for the bad grammar I'm trying to do 10 things and just had to chime in fast.

Not sure what you are trying to say. So is it humans have a stupendous ability for here and now gratification even on a personal level, ie sit of couch and pig out, even if diabetes, increased cancer & heart complications , much worse life expectancy and health span ( functioning ability to go about life ).
Some guy called kerry called wolf, thereby any crying wolf should not believed. Not sure if Kerry was a scientist, or some make believe mythological creature. So carry on as is, as nothing to see here or worry about

Well yes 70% of Americans will still have poorer health outcomes, no matter how much you educate them.
Wild fires will increase once in 500 year droughts, floods will become more common. heatwaves will continue, YOY climate records will be massively broken, not by the usuasal .1 of a degree but sometimes 2 or 3 degrees in geographical areas. Oxygen in warmer waters will decrease, algae, disease will increase in rivers and lakes with farm run offs , warmer, less rainfall

If you look out your window, climate in changing right now in your city, your countryside
If you watch world news you see the biggest floods, fires, droughts, storms happening on such a regular basis now.
Do you even know their is a once in 100 year flood ravaging central europe right now, probably not
Fire seasons are starting much earlier

Interesting times and I live in New Zealand - we will be hit, but we are considered a sanctuary country, - moderated by the oceans, so we will get floods , and droughts but we will cope, less extreme highs , we can easily feed ourselves as we export huge amounts of food, we have a 100% sea border, no need to build walls, or racial chants of send them back. when climate/economic refugees will soar to billions in coming decades

The ocean has saved us from more devastation in atmospheric heating as a big CO2 heat sink, and water has much more thermal mass than air. But the oceans ability to absorb more CO2 is decreasing

We probably are looking at active measures now, dumping iron filings , huge kelp, seaweed farms etc , oxygenating metals etc

Yes the answer is from higher ups. But I think the problem is lots of humans are cut off from nature, it's just something out there .
Ever wondered why hunters etc have no matter how redneck if curious or smart grow to become conservationists. as they are out there in nature , they learn to love the wild , they see the changes , the encroachments , they know it's worth protecting , same for fisherman, the see that dragnets can kill an ecosystem for recreational fishermen, shellfish, crustation gatherers
Many poachers become conservationists , as the real joy is just being out there, not the kill , you, the land, air and water , no stinking phones, notifications etc
Influencers etc make people think nature is some kind of manicured disney BS , bamboo looking huts with all mod cons on a manufactured lagoon , raked beaches and bubble tea or chia smoothie

 

[Starfals]

Doubt anything will change. I also have noticed the how the weather changed in my country. Stuff that never happend for 20 years... seem to be happening now almost weekly. Snow used to be in october, now its always after feb-march. Pretty huge difference. Summer used to end at september, now people even go to the sea at october lol. Pretty crazy stuff. We used to get 1 day of 45C yearly, super duper hot weather. Now these hot days last more than 2 weeks. You cannot work outside, its like going to another planet. You cant take a bus.. no AC in it. You cant take a taxi, its like going in the oven. Some use car AC, most save money and dont. I can keep on going, so people that deny this stuff are just strange to me lol. Why deny what you see with ur own eyes lol. Weird people, but yeah whatever.

I won't even mention floods and fires. Ok fine, ill say 1 thing. From 1 flood every 40 years... to EVERY SINGLE YEAR. Every street is underwater every summer. Ive never seen that in my life, until last 6 years.

 

[umeng2002]

Scientists have been saying that we only have a few years to live for the past 60 years.

 

[Kirby1]

Scientists have been saying that we only have a few years to live for the past 60 years.

That's not true at all. They have been saying we have about a century for about half a century.

 

[Karlos95]

Climate change is a spectrum, yes, we contribute to it. Will it destroy the earth? No, it will destroy us. Right now we are like a virus to the globe (hope that's not controversial to the flatties) and that globe is making things more extreme (hot, cold) to rid of the virus.

We need to be in harmony with earth to be able to survive on it. It's basic science but someone will say otherwise and look like an *****.

 

[VaRmeNsI]

While I don't subscribe to the church of climatology, at least this article reminded me to go listen to DRI's Acid Rain again.

 

[mgwerner]

Read back over the last 2-3 decade of alarmist pronouncements. We are always "approaching a critical threshold" of something. And then that thing never happens. Dishonest "scientists," and dishonest "media," including TS.

"Planetary Boundary" BS is just that: BS.

In 2022, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) reported the highest levels of coral cover across two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in over 36 years. https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/is-the-great-barrier-reef-making-a-comeback/

Climate is cyclic, within a certain boundary. That is: lots of ice, or less ice. Any other attribute assigned by monkeys is simply BS.

 

[Kirby1]

Read back over the last 2-3 decade of alarmist pronouncements. We are always "approaching a critical threshold" of something. And then that thing never happens. Dishonest "scientists," and dishonest "media," including TS.

"Planetary Boundary" BS is just that: BS.

In 2022, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) reported the highest levels of coral cover across two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in over 36 years. https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/is-the-great-barrier-reef-making-a-comeback/

Climate is cyclic, within a certain boundary. That is: lots of ice, or less ice. Any other attribute assigned by monkeys is simply BS.

One good thing like some isolated areas of the great reef healing slightly doesn't outweigh all the other very real negative effects of climate change. That is absolutely terrible logic with extreme bias.

 

[bandit8623]

One good thing like some isolated areas of the great reef healing slightly doesn't outweigh all the other very real negative effects of climate change. That is absolutely terrible logic with extreme bias.

Saying there are holes in the ozone but there is a ton of ozone left..the ozone depleting was bias... And there was no Way to prove right or wrong. The ozone was healing itself before the ban on the chemicals. So was it the chemicals? Or was it the Earth cycle...

 

[WhoCaresAnymore]

2 non-tech, baity articles in 1 day? Can we not?

Sky is always falling for some people. Mankind was going to be extinct in 1980, oh wait, 1990... Well, that didn't happen, OK. 2000. Sorry. Now going on 2024 and nothing's changed.

Earth cycles, move on.

 

[fadingfool]

Ocean "acidification" is a lie. Pure and simple. Becoming less "base" (as in slightly less alkaline) does not equal "acidification". There are no extra free H+ ions (a requirement to be acidic) just fewer free OH- ions. "Acidification" was picked as a term because it sounds "scary" (which is wrong as a strong base is far more dangerous than a strong acid).

 

[gingerbill]

This is not accurate. It's big companies, mining, factories, that sort of thing that is highly responsible for climate change, and mostly in third-world countries that can't afford cleaner industrial practices like India and China.

India and China are not 3rd world countries , not even close . They are both in the top 5 countries by GDP and have space programs.

 

[gamerk2]

In 2022, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) reported the highest levels of coral cover across two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in over 36 years. https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/is-the-great-barrier-reef-making-a-comeback/

Hmmm, what happened in the early 2020s that could contribute to coral reef recovery? Oh wait, the pandemic, where use of oil/gas plummeted to about 10% of normal for about two years.

So ironically, you proved the point you were trying so hard to disprove.

 

[Zsoltblabla]

Its pointless reading articles like this. Our leaders could not care less about us or our planet. Profit above everything else. Most of them sacrifice their own children for their ambitions… how could they care about strangers.
Humanity is doomed. Simple as that.

 

[DukeJukem]

So you like tech but hate science?

Are facts "baity", or do you just call it that if it's facts you don't want to accept as true?

Maybe it's the simple fact that this is TECHspot and not SCIENCEspot and they don't want to read these articles on this type of site? Idk about you but I'm not vistiing Home Depots website to see posts about tech. Sure, science involves tech sometimes but not here. This is a pointless article with nothing to do with tech and the average consumer can't do anything about this issue regardless.

Pointless article in the wrong place.

 

[Kirby1]

Maybe it's the simple fact that this is TECHspot and not SCIENCEspot and they don't want to read these articles on this type of site? Idk about you but I'm not vistiing Home Depots website to see posts about tech. Sure, science involves tech sometimes but not here. This is a pointless article with nothing to do with tech and the average consumer can't do anything about this issue regardless.

Pointless article in the wrong place.

Even if it is in the wrong place, that doesn't make it any less true, and arguing that it's somehow not valid because you don't like it when TechSpot posts this kind of article is an absolutely terrible argument with no valid reasoning whatsoever.

 

[arrowflash]

Doubt anything will change. I also have noticed the how the weather changed in my country. Stuff that never happend for 20 years... seem to be happening now almost weekly. Snow used to be in october, now its always after feb-march. Pretty huge difference. Summer used to end at september, now people even go to the sea at october lol. Pretty crazy stuff. We used to get 1 day of 45C yearly, super duper hot weather. Now these hot days last more than 2 weeks. You cannot work outside, its like going to another planet. You cant take a bus.. no AC in it. You cant take a taxi, its like going in the oven. Some use car AC, most save money and dont. I can keep on going, so people that deny this stuff are just strange to me lol. Why deny what you see with ur own eyes lol. Weird people, but yeah whatever.

I won't even mention floods and fires. Ok fine, ill say 1 thing. From 1 flood every 40 years... to EVERY SINGLE YEAR. Every street is underwater every summer. Ive never seen that in my life, until last 6 years.

Weather is also changing significantly in my country, especially in the last 4 years or so. It's getting crazy.

Here, seasons are disappearing. Winters are getting a lot warmer with record highs, while summers are becoming cooler. Floods, fires and droughts have become a lot more common here too.

Winds also appear to be changing significantly. In the region I live, in the last few years it's been winding a lot less than it used to, most days with totally stale air without even a light breeze. When I talk about this to people living in other regions of the country, many have noticed the same thing where they live.

However, almost everyone seems to be in denial. Guess it's the same everywhere in the world.