#oceanacidification

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The impacts of climate change, such as this bleached coral in National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, are affecting all of our national marine sanctuaries. To meet this challenge, we must first understand the local effects of the changing climate.

New Release: Ocean Acidification Resource Collection

What is Ocean Acidification?

The ocean absorbs the extra carbon dioxide we emit into the atmosphere when we burn fossil fuels, like coal, oil, and methane gas, and that changes the chemistry of the ocean. We call this “ocean acidification.” The change in chemistry is reducing the amount of calcium carbonate in the ocean. Just as humans need calcium to build their bones, sea creatures need calcium carbonate to build strong skeletons and shells. Ocean acidification changes the chemistry of the ocean and causes “osteoporosis of the sea,” which prevents animals at the bottom of the food chain from building and maintaining the protective shells they need to survive.

Explore this new collection of NOAA videos, lesson plans, webinars, web stories, virtual reality, and much more.

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education/teachers/ocean-acidification/