Satellites Reveal How Acidic the World's Oceans Are as Greenhouse Gases Increase

We're getting a new look at ocean acidification--from space. Researchers have used satellites to monitor ocean acidification, and have been able to see the impacts on large swatches of inaccessible ocean from orbit.

Each year, more than a quarter of global CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels and other sources are absorbed by the Earth's oceans. With the excess gas mixed in with the seawater, the oceans become more acidic. This, in turn, can make it more difficult for some marine life to live. More specifically, animals with calcium carbonate shells have to work harder to form those shells, since the slightly acidic environment eats away at the shell over time. That's why researchers turned to satellites.

"Satellites are likely to become increasingly important for the monitoring of ocean acidification, especially in remote and often dangerous waters like the Arctic," said Jamie Shutler, one of the researchers, in a news release. "It can be both difficult and expensive to take year-round direct measurements in such inaccessible locations. We are pioneering these techniques so that we can monitor large areas of the Earth's oceans allowing us to quickly and easily identify those areas most at risk from the increasing acidification."

Current methods of measuring temperature and salinity to determine acidity are restricted to in situ instruments and measurements taken from research vessels. Needless to say, this can limit sampling and keep researchers from achieving a fuller picture of the world's oceans.

"In recent years, great advances have been made in the global provision of satellite and in situ data," said Peter Land, lead author of the new paper. "It is now time to evaluate how to make the most of these new data sources to help us monitor ocean acidification and to establish where satellite data can make the best contribution."

The findings reveal a new technique to monitor the oceans' acidity. This, in turn, could drastically help researchers understand how increasing CO2 levels are impacting the ocean.

The findings are published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

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