Presentations from the Understanding Ocean Acidification workshops in coastal California.
Find lesson plans and projects that show CO2’s effect on ocean acidity and sea life.
Continue learning from additional websites, FAQs, videos and reports available online.
Each year, the ocean absorbs approximately 25% of the CO2 we emit.
The more CO2 we emit, the more acidic the ocean water becomes: a phenomenon known as Ocean Acidification.
Ocean acidification has increased 30% since the Industrial Revolution.
The rate of ocean acidification will accelerate in the coming decades.
This rate of change is unprecedented in the last 55 million years.
Marine organisms with calcium carbonate skeletons or shells can be affected by small changes in acidity.
Many affected species are of great cultural, economic or biological importance.
The impact of ocean acidification on the food web will threaten major economic interests.
Food supplies of regions dependent on seafood protein will be at risk. Valuable ecosystems may be damaged or destroyed by ocean acidification.
By 2050, if CO2 levels rise as predicted, warm-water coral reefs extinctions are likely.
By 2100, 70% of cold water corals will be affected.
Stabilization or reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels is necessary to slow the progression of ocean acidification.