Many people think that the ocean has only one pH everywhere. Other people think that the oceanic pH is different in different places, but is constant over time. Neither view is correct. Note that in Hawaii, the surface pH is above 8.05, and in Alaska the surface pH is below 7.7 and despite that, the marine environment in Alaska is much, much richer in life than the Hawaiian marine environment. This underscores a simple fact—alkalinity is hard on living creatures, much harder than acidity. That’s why fish often have a slimy kind of mucus that covers their entire bodies … to keep from slowly dissolving in the slightly alkaline ocean. And it’s also why a slight trend towards neutrality in the ocean is not worrisome in the slightest. Do you care if the climate activists try to scare you with ocean acidification stories?
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 23:22:08 +0000
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