Page 30 - Professorial Lecture - Prof Omoregie

This impacts on the marine environment as the world’s oceans currently absorb
as much as one-third of all CO 2 emissions in the atmosphere. This absorption of
CO 2 causes pH to decrease, resulting in the seawater becoming more acidic.

Scientists have long understood that an increase in carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere will result in higher levels of dissolved CO 2 in seawater. However, a
relatively recent discovery is that even small changes in water pH can have big
impacts on marine biology. Ocean acidification is a worldwide issue, but as CO 2 is
more soluble in colder water, this is therefore of particular concern in the cold
Benguela waters.

It is difficult to predict the overall global impact on the marine ecosystem but
many scientists fear that ocean acidification has the potential to decrease marine
biodiversity on a very large scale.

29 |