Warming seas create a massive chemistry experiment

Rising acidity in oceans and accelerating wind patterns may lead to unexpected changes.

Global warming of the sea is affecting the atmosphere and ocean in subtle ways, adding a new dimension to the concept of global change.

As carbon dioxide accumulates in the air, more of it dissolves into the sea. This gradually increases sea-water acidity. Biologists have been concerned about what this could do to corals and other animals that have adapted to live in fairly constant marine conditions. Now scientists also have to take account of changes to seawater chemistry....

According to the MBARI announcement, its research team estimates “that sound already may travel 10 percent farther in the oceans than it did a few hundred years ago.” The team projects that by midcentury, sound may travel as much as 70 percent farther than it does today.

- Warming seas create a massive chemistry experiment, CS Monitor