smithsonianmag:Amazing Sea Butterflies Are the Ocean’s Canary in the Coal Mine Most climate
smithsonianmag: Amazing Sea Butterflies Are the Ocean’s Canary in the Coal Mine Most climate change discussion focuses on the warmth of the air, but around one-quarter of the carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere dissolves into the ocean. Dissolved carbon dioxide makes seawater more acidic—a process called ocean acidification—and its effects have already been observed: the shells of sea butterflies, also known as pteropods, have begun dissolving in the Antarctic. But some pteropod species are proving to do just fine in more acidic water, while others have shells that dissolve quickly. So why do some species perish while others thrive? - Continue reading at Smithsonian.com. Photo: © Karen Osborn -- source link