A report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that waters surrounding Alaska are becoming more acidic faster than the rest of the world’s oceans.
The study measured dissolved carbon dioxide through thousands of monitoring stations across the globe and found faster rates of acidification in the Arctic Ocean and Northwest Pacific along with the Antarctic.
NOAA Oceanographer Kris Holdried of Homer…
Holdried: “Alaska is I mean really ground zero and that’s partially that’s because of the low pH and the low temperatures will drive pH a little lower and the cold waters are more susceptible and also the northern north pacific, the deeper ocean waters are naturally lower in pH so they are kind of preconditioned to be at the lower end of the scale with respect to the whole global ocean. So that means we’re at that place where we’re most sensitive to these changes.”
A University of Alaska study earlier this year found the Beaufort Sea off of Alaska’s northeastern coast is becoming too acidic to hold enough dissolved calcium for shellfish.