Acidification Of Beaufort Sea Moving Faster Than Anyplace Else On Earth [View all]

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Research suggests Canada’s Beaufort Sea is becoming acidic more quickly than any other ocean in the world, offering a window into what a major side effect of climate change will do to waters around the globe. “As goes the Arctic, so go the rest of the oceans,” said Jeremy Mathis of the U.S.-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, lead author of the new paper published in the journal Oceanography.

In about 10 years, he predicts the Arctic waters off the Northwest Territories will be more acidic for most of the year than they have ever been before. The consequences for sea life are unknown, although organisms that have shells are likely to have trouble.

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First, the team took a series of water samples in 2011 and 2012 from the Chukchi Sea between Russia and Alaska to the western edge of the Canadian High Arctic islands. They then compared that data to what mathematical models predicted they should be. With the exception of areas just off the mouths of the Mackenzie and Yukon Rivers, Mathis said the models proved accurate.

They then plugged that data into the model to predict how the acidification would unfold. Their calculations suggest that by 2025, the acidity of the Beaufort Sea will be outside its normal range for most of the year. By 2054, the Beaufort’s acidity will average permanently higher than even the highest current level.

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http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadas-beaufort-sea-is-becoming-acidic-more-quickly-than-any-other-ocean-in-the-world-research-suggests