{"id":7147,"date":"2023-12-05T16:40:26","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T15:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.seawards.fr\/?p=7147"},"modified":"2023-12-05T16:40:28","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T15:40:28","slug":"oceans-and-acidification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.seawards.fr\/en\/to-know-to-take-action\/oceans-and-acidification\/","title":{"rendered":"Oceans and acidification"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The oceans, fundamental for life on Earth<\/a><\/strong>, produce much of the oxygen we breathe, absorb 30% of global CO2 emissions and provide a livelihood for over three billion people.<\/a><\/strong> However, human activity on these vast bodies of water is proving increasingly worrying. Since the late 1980s, 95% of open ocean surface waters have become more acidic<\/strong><\/a>, a phenomenon associated with the increasing uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) by the oceans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The pH, a measure of a solution’s acidity or alkalinity, is the indicator of this transformation. Seawater, once slightly alkaline with an average pH of around 8.2 before the industrial revolution, has now reached a pH of 8.1. Although this decrease seems minimal, it represents an increase of around 30% in ocean acidity since pre-industrial times<\/strong><\/a>. Alarming forecasts in the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)<\/a> <\/strong>suggest that by 2100, ocean pH could fall to 7.8, making the oceans 150% more acidic and endangering half of all aquatic life.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ocean acidification has far-reaching consequences for marine ecosystems and the human communities that depend on them. Calcifying organisms, such as oysters, crabs, sea urchins, lobsters and corals, suffer a dual challeng<\/a>e<\/a><\/strong>: increased acidity and a reduction in the carbonate ions essential to the formation of their shells and skeletons.<\/strong> Studies show that these structures become more vulnerable and tend to break down more easily under acidic conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The implications extend beyond simple biological structures. Underwater sound transmission can be altered, making environments louder.<\/strong> Marine organisms, in fighting acidification, expend valuable energy that could otherwise be allocated to physiological processes such as reproduction and growth. <\/strong>This increased pressure on marine organisms can destabilize food chains, compromise ecosystem resilience<\/strong> and impact crucial economic sectors such as fishing and tourism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ocean acidification, a direct result of human activity, is a silent but formidable threat to our marine environment.<\/strong> By 2050, scientists anticipate that the vast majority – around 86% – of the world’s oceans will be at levels of heat and acidity never before recorded in recent history.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faced with this reality, urgent action is needed to reduce CO2 emissions and implement conservation measures aimed at preserving the health and vitality of the oceans<\/strong>, thus ensuring a sustainable future for our planet and future generations. That’s why Seawards is firmly committed to creating energy-efficient desalination technology<\/strong>. We are determined to make an active contribution to preserving the oceans and providing a sustainable source of fresh water for future generations.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The oceans, fundamental for life on Earth, produce much of the oxygen we breathe, absorb 30% of global CO2 emissions and provide a livelihood for over three billion people. However, human activity on these vast bodies of water is proving increasingly worrying. Since the late 1980s, 95% of open ocean surface waters have become more acidic, a phenomenon associated with the increasing uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) by the oceans<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-to-know-to-take-action"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seawards.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seawards.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seawards.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seawards.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seawards.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7147"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.seawards.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7156,"href":"https:\/\/www.seawards.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7147\/revisions\/7156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seawards.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seawards.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seawards.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}