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Ocean in coastal areas becoming more acidic than previously thought [View all]
https://news.st-andrews.ac.uk/archive/ocean-in-coastal-areas-becoming-more-acidic-than-previously-thought/Tuesday 18 November 2025
New research from the university of St Andrews has found that some coastal areas will become much more acidic than previously anticipated.
Because atmospheric CO2 and ocean pH (acidity) are tightly coupled, the more CO2 that is released into the atmosphere, the more is absorbed by seawater, making the ocean progressively more acidic. However, in a paper published in Nature Communications, researchers, using the California Current as an example, show that oceanic upwelling systems actually amplify ocean acidification.
Upwelling is where nutrient- rich and already acidic waters from deep in the oceans rise along the coast. When organic matter from the surface ocean sinks to the deep ocean, microbes gradually break it down in a chemical reaction that releases CO2 and increases seawater acidity. When this deep water upwells, it brings the acidity to the surface, where it further reacts with the atmospheric CO2, which makes these water masses even more acidic.
The researchers used historic coral samples and boron isotope signatures recorded in their skeletons to reconstruct how acidity changed over the 20th century, and then applied a regional ocean model to predict how acidity will change during the 21st century. The study showed that in these upwelling regions of the ocean, ocean acidification outpaces the level “expected” from rising atmospheric CO2 alone. This is because the upwelled water masses are acidic to start with and anthropogenically rising CO2 exacerbates the acidity.
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63207-6
New research from the university of St Andrews has found that some coastal areas will become much more acidic than previously anticipated.
Because atmospheric CO2 and ocean pH (acidity) are tightly coupled, the more CO2 that is released into the atmosphere, the more is absorbed by seawater, making the ocean progressively more acidic. However, in a paper published in Nature Communications, researchers, using the California Current as an example, show that oceanic upwelling systems actually amplify ocean acidification.
Upwelling is where nutrient- rich and already acidic waters from deep in the oceans rise along the coast. When organic matter from the surface ocean sinks to the deep ocean, microbes gradually break it down in a chemical reaction that releases CO2 and increases seawater acidity. When this deep water upwells, it brings the acidity to the surface, where it further reacts with the atmospheric CO2, which makes these water masses even more acidic.
The researchers used historic coral samples and boron isotope signatures recorded in their skeletons to reconstruct how acidity changed over the 20th century, and then applied a regional ocean model to predict how acidity will change during the 21st century. The study showed that in these upwelling regions of the ocean, ocean acidification outpaces the level “expected” from rising atmospheric CO2 alone. This is because the upwelled water masses are acidic to start with and anthropogenically rising CO2 exacerbates the acidity.
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