Source: LA Times
Waters on the coast of California are acidifying faster than the global average, according to a new report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as reported by LA Times.
Though for a long time researchers believed that California coasts were more prone to severe changes in the chemistry of the water, the new study found evidence of changes through an analysis that involved examining a certain shell.
“The study analyzed almost 2,000 shells of a tiny animal called foraminifera. Every day, these shells — about the size of a grain of sand — rain down onto the seafloor and are eventually covered by sediment,” reports LA Times.
These were analyzed to unveil the history of the ocean. Researchers ultimately found that pH levels dropped in California waters by .21 over a century – more than double the national average.
Researchers are urging the importance of reducing and eliminating carbon emissions in order to help the environment, because at some point, the ocean won’t be able to absorb all of the pollution that has been for ages.
Read Full Story: LA Times