London, Mar 3 (ANI): Rising levels of carbon dioxide could lead to mass extinction of shellfish, coral reefs and other marine animals with exterior skeletons, a study has said.
Scientists have calculated that the current rate of ocean acidification today is unprecedented over the past 300 million years, when the seas experienced at least four major mass extinctions involving rising ocean acidity.
"We know that life during past ocean-acidification events was not wiped out - new species evolved to replace those that died off. But if industrial carbon emissions continue at the current pace, we may lose organisms we care about, such as coral reefs, oysters and salmon," the Independent quoted Barbel Honisch of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in New York, as saying.
The study investigated seabed sediments built up over hundreds of millions of years. These contain microscopic fossils and the physical signatures of marine organisms that lived during this period, which can be used to estimate average levels of pH, the chemical measure of acidity and alkalinity.
Shellfish, reef-building corals and microscopic organisms such as foraminifera, which are at the base of the marine food chain, all rely on high concentrations of carbonate ions in seawater, which are affected by the production of carbonic acid.
As acidity increases, then these organisms will find it more difficult to make the shells and bony skeletons essential for survival, said Dr Daniela Schmidt of Bristol University, a co-author of the study.
"We looked at the past 300 million years of the Earth's history and analysed events that are associated with ocean acidification. None of these events is a perfect analogy to what is happening now because the current rate of change is so exceptional.
"But we estimate it is happening 10 times faster than in the past and this is important in terms of the biology because the speed puts pressure on the ecosystem. If it runs too fast, you are not giving the genetics time to cope," Dr Schmidt said.
The study was published in the journal Science. (ANI)
|
|
Read More: Kashmir University | Aligarh Muslim University | K P University | University Po | B R A University | Science College | Veterinary Science College | Science Institute Lsg So | Madras University Po | World University Centre | Pondicherry University | Annamalai University | Tamil University | Kodaikanal Observatory | Bharathiyar University | Kannur University Campus | Calicut Arts & Science College | Kohima Science College | K.r.high School | Bnmu University Madhepura
Comments:
