ocean acidification Archives - Page 3 of 3 - State of the Planet

Rio+20 The Future We Want banner at entrance to the the United Nations

Healthy Oceans: Charting A New Course

Leading up to Rio+20, on April 25th the United Nations hosted “Healthy Oceans: Charting A New Course,” a panel discussion which brought together a range of experts to discuss the fate of the world’s oceans and what can be done to protect them.

by |April 30, 2012

Ocean Acidification: Geologic Record Adds New Warning

A new study in Science finds that the oceans may be acidifying faster today from industrial emissions than they did during four major extinctions in the last 300 million years when carbon levels spiked naturally.

by |March 1, 2012
A core section shows shells of foraminifera, and reduced carbonate preservation, at the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. During the period, researchers believe up to half of deep-sea benthic foraminifer species suffered extinction. Photo: Laura Foster, University of Bristol

From Distant Past, Lessons on Ocean Acidification

Oceans turned more acidic during a period of great warming some 56 million years ago, causing an extinction of bottom-dwelling marine species known as foraminifera, a scenario that may be happening again now, only much more quickly.

by |December 8, 2011

Have We Crossed the 9 Planetary Boundaries?

“The world needs to awaken itself to the looming catastrophe of global warming,” said Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute, at a recent meeting in Muscat. “We must provide a safe operating space where vested interest and lobby-driven policies will not see the world marching into disaster.”

by |August 5, 2011

Losing Our Coral Reefs

Coral reefs, the “rainforests of the sea,” are some of the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems on earth. But tragically, they are in crisis.

by |June 13, 2011

Sea Change

Bärbel Hönisch, an expert on ocean acidification at Columbia, will speak after a screening of the film “A Sea Change” this Thursday.

by |September 15, 2009