Search results
Learn how our oceans are absorbing increasingly more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, leading to lower pH and greater acidity. Ocean acidification is fundamentally changing the chemistry of the world’s oceans and threatening our marine resources.
- NOAA Research
Explore the forefront of scientific discovery with NOAA...
- Ocean acidification: A wake-up call in our waters | National ...
The massive amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed by the...
- Ocean Acidification | National Marine Ecosystem Status
Ocean Acidification. Click on the Indicators below for More...
- Ocean Acidification Data Visualizations: How to access and ...
The NOAA Ocean Acidification Program coordinates research,...
- NOAA Research
Ocean acidification means that the average seawater pH value is dropping over time. [1] Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's ocean. Over the past 200 years, the rapid increase in anthropogenic CO 2 (carbon dioxide) production has led to an increase in the acidity of the Earth’s oceans.
Last updated October 4, 2022. Have a comment on this page? Let us know. The ocean has become more acidic over the past century because of an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide it is absorbing from the atmosphere, leading to a lower pH and greater acidity. This is causing a fundamental change in the chemistry of the ocean from pole to pole.
Like global warming, this phenomenon, which is known as ocean acidification, is a direct consequence of increasing levels of carbon dioxide (CO 2) in Earth’s atmosphere. Prior to industrialization, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 280 parts per million (ppm). With increased use of fossil fuels, that number is now ...
