Oceanic animals that make shells by and large use calcium carbonate to build them. In a healthy ocean, CaCO3 ions are present in surface waters at tremendous concentrations, a concept known as supersaturation. When the water becomes more acidic, it is less able to hold the ions and so the concentration becomes under-saturated. That means animals will have to use proportionally more energy to build their shells, which will likely mean they have little left to find food and reproduce. We’ve known that the oceans are headed in this direction, but we didn’t previously realize it was happening as quickly as it now appears to be, as a new paper in Science is reporting. This rapid acceleration could have devastating effects on the underwater food chain, something so complex we are at a loss to predict the potential extent completely. Via The Guardian
