Investigating ocean acidification

Dr Nick Kamenos of Glasgow University is among 101 scientists from around 21 of the UK’s top scientific institutions investigating the effects of carbon-dioxide (CO₂) absorption on the chemistry of the ocean, as part of the £12m Ocean Acidification Research Programme (UKOARP).

The absorption of CO₂ from the burning of fossil fuels, as well as from other human sources, fundamentally increases the acidity of seawater, which in turn has considerable consequences for the life and processes within.

This ’acidification’ of the ocean is also likely to have a significant impact on marine biogeochemistry and biodiversity; however, changes could extend beyond this to the whole Earth system, via effects on air-sea gas exchange and sedimentation of material through the oceans.

The scale and nature of the effects of ocean acidification are still largely unknown and substantial research is needed so that society may deal with the problem effectively.

The £12m, five-year UKOARP is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs (Defra) and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).