Scientists discover Earth's oceans are close to being 'too acidic' to support life

Our oceans are becoming too acidic, to the point where they are unable to help maintain marine ecosystems and the climate, according to a new study.

Nine important planetary boundaries were mentioned in the report by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) that are key for the planet to support and sustain life.

Due to human activity, the thresholds have been exceeded in six of these areas, with a potential seventh - ocean acidification - also nearing a "critical threshold," especially in higher-latitude regions, according to the first of PIK's Planetary Health Checks.

Those in the high-risk category include climate change, the introduction of novel entities, change in biosphere integrity and modification of biogeochemical flows.

No doubt the ocean acidification limit is set to be surpassed due to the continued rise in carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) from fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas.

"As CO2 emissions increase, more of it dissolves in sea water... making the oceans more acidic," Boris Sakschewski, one of the lead authors explained, as per AFP.

Ocean acidification is nearing a "critical threshold," according to PIK's Planetary Health Check.Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images

"Even with rapid emission cuts, some level of continued acidification may be unavoidable due to the CO2 already emitted and the time it takes for the ocean system to respond."

He added: "Therefore, breaching the ocean acidification boundary appears inevitable within the coming years."

While Levke Caesar, a climate physicist at PIK and co-author of the report also shared similar concerns, as per The Guardian.

Speaking about recent studies, he said those suggest that "even these current conditions may already be problematic for a variety of marine organisms, suggesting a need [to] re-evaluate which levels can actually be called safe.”

So what are the consequences when the ocean becomes too acidic?

If the oceans are too acidic then it can damage the marine ecosystem, including coral reefs, shellfish and phytoplankton which are food for a lot of species, and would have an eventual knock-on effect to human's food supply.

The oceans also absorb 25 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions and captures 90 per cent of the excess heat generated by these emissions, according to the United Nations.

Therefore if the oceans are too acidic, it cannot do this job as effectively.

“This illustrates the connection between ocean acidification … and biosphere integrity,” Caesar added and noted the "main message" of the report is to demonstrate how all nine planetary boundaries are "highly interconnected".

Meanwhile, just one of the nine planetary boundaries which are not near exceeding the threshold is the health of Earth's ozone layer.

Despite previously sustaining damage due to manufactured chemicals, a ban on several of these chemicals back in 1987 has enabled the layer to recover.

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