CHICAGO, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Ocean waters are growing more acidic faster than previously thought and pose a threat sea life, researchers from the University of Chicago said.
In addition, the increase acidity correlates with increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, researchers reported in a paper published online by the Proceedings of the National Academic of Sciences.
"Of the variables the study examined that are linked to changes in ocean acidity, only atmospheric carbon dioxide exhibited a corresponding steady change," said lead author J. Timothy Wootton in a release.
The increasingly acidic water has begun causing harm to some sea animals and could reduce the ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide, the researchers said.
The University of Chicago scientists' study is based on 24,519 measurements of ocean pH taken during an eight-year period at Tatoosh Island in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Washington.
"The acidity increased more than 10 times faster than had been predicted by climate change models and other studies," Wootton said. "This increase will have a severe impact on marine food webs and suggests that ocean acidification may be a more urgent issue than previously thought, at least in some areas of the ocean."
