The oceans have absorbed about 50 percent of the carbon dioxide (CO2) released from the burning of fossil fuels, resulting in chemical reactions that lower ocean pH. This has caused an increase in hydrogen ion (acidity) of about 30 percent since the start of the industrial age through a process known as "ocean acidification."

 

A growing number of studies have demonstrated adverse impacts on marine organisms, including: the decreased rate at which reef-building corals produce their skeletons, the reduced ability of marine algae and free-swimming zooplankton to maintain protective shells and the reduced survival of larval marine species (including commercial fish and shellfish). (Source: NOAA / Photo: Flickr)