Oceans' rising acidity a threat to shellfish — and humans - latimes.com
By the end of the century, said French biological oceanographer Jean-Pierre Gattuso, "The oceans will become hot, sour and breathless."
He was one of 540 scientists from 37 countries who gathered last month in Monterey, Calif., to discuss their findings on oceans in a "high-C02 world."
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Feely and a team of scientists have been tracking particularly acidic waters as they well up from the deep ocean and slosh onto the continental shelf off California, Oregon and Washington. "We found corrosive water everywhere we looked, particularly off California and Oregon," he said.
The cold, nutrient-laden waters from the deep sea are naturally more acidic than surface waters. Human contributions of CO2 only add to that acidity.
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Laboratory experiments show that rising acidity is toxic to some fish larvae and can bring on bizarre behavior. It scrambles the senses of the orange-and-white clown fish, featured in the animated film "Finding Nemo," making them leave their protective hiding places inside corals or sea anemones. Studies show they become deaf to the sound of predators and even attracted to the predators' scent.
The result: quick and certain death.
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