C[O.sub.2] content of ocean water is rising precipitously.

• Author: Ayres, Ed
• Position: ENVIRONMENTAL Intelligence

As if the oceans weren't already in deep enough trouble with their depleted fisheries, coastal pollution, dead zones, and rising water temperature, new research now finds that oceanic C[O.sub.2] is rising just as dramatically as atmospheric C[O.sub.2] is--with potential consequences too far-reaching for scientists yet to fully fathom. One of the likely effects, however, is that water near the surface will become increasingly acidic.

The research, led by Christopher Sabine of the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), found that the Earth's oceans have absorbed about 120 billion metric tons of carbon in the past century, most of it generated by the burning of coal, oil, and gas. The study was conducted at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Lab, with the results presented at a recent symposium of the UN's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the International Council for Science.

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The study found that 20 to 25 million tons of carbon dioxide per day is now being absorbed by the oceans--a rate of change that has not been seen on this planet in more than 20 million years. The accumulation is occurring 100 times faster than that which occurred between the ice ages.

While rising C[O.sub.2]...