Ocean acidification mapped, revealed by satellite

Link ~ ~ brucelandonblog

BY / FEBRUARY 18, 2015

A new initiative led by the University of Exeter has mapped and revealed the extent of ocean acidification through the use of data gathered by satellite, revealing some bad environmental news.

Ocean waters act as a carbon “sink” in that they absorb as much as 25 percent of carbon dioxide given off by human industry on an annual basis according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This has led to a much-needed brake on the slow but inexorable increase of global temperatures that will bring about climate change, but there’s a downside to the ocean’s carbon absorption; the more CO2 the world’s oceans absorb the more acidic they become.In fact, NOAA says that ocean surface PH levels have turned 30 percent more acidic since the tail end of the Industrial Revolution.

Mapping the overall acidity of the world’s oceans has been problematic because the distribution has never been even. Studies have had to rely upon data gathered by buoys and research vessels – an expensive and unreliable endeavor indeed. However, the University of Exeter has led an international team of researchers in creating global ocean acidity maps through satellite data in order to show exactly where the world’s oceans are the most acidic.

University of Exeter senior lecturer Jamie Shutler, the lead researcher for the study, remarked that these techniques are being pioneered in order to monitor large swathes of global ocean. Doing so will allow Shutler and his colleagues to swiftly and easily pinpoint areas around the world that are most at risk from the kinds of high acid levels that can destroy fragile ecosystems.

The scientists used information from satellites currently in orbit such as the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity sensor from the European Space Agency and the Aquarius satellite placed in orbit by NASA. Global acidification levels were calculated by combining salinity data with thermal camera imagery. The results show that open ocean waters are more adept at absorbing carbon, as they’re naturally less acidic; meanwhile more shallow coastal waters are naturally more acidic than deeper waters, leading to possibly negative effects in these regions.

http://www.smnweekly.com/ocean-acidification-mapped-revealed-by-satellite/16393/

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