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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Growing Ocean Acidity May Erode Coastal Ecosystems


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A map shows seawater temperatures along the Pacific coasts of California and Mexico between May and June 2007. The very low temperatures off northern California signal that acidic deep waters are upwelling along the coast.

A new study has found that ocean waters raking North America's west coast are becoming more acidic than anticipated in response to atmospheric carbon emissions and are now strong enough to corrode seashells.

Image courtesy of Dana Greeley and Simone Alin of PMEL / Science