Sea life in peril as oceans turn acid

摘要

The oceans are gradually becoming more acidic as they soak up the excess carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. The change could be catastrophic for marine ecosystems and for economies that rely on reef tourism and fishing - and there is no way to reverse it. That is the conclusion of the first review looking at all the studies relating to the acidification of the oceans. It was commissioned from an international group of scientists by the Royal Society, the UK's national academy of science. The rising level of CO_2 in the atmosphere is what causes global warming. As the gas dissolves in the oceans, however, it is causing a quite different problem by forming carbonic acid.