Acid oceans: the risk from carbon emissions

The acidity of the world's oceans has increased by 25 per cent since the industrial revolution, according to Sir Mark Walport, the government's chief scientist.

He said the change, which he attributed to manmade carbon emissions, could affect the biological diversity sustained by seawater.

"If we carry on emitting CO2 at the same rate, ocean acidification will create substantial risks to complex marine food webs and ecosystems," Walport told the BBC.

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A recent study conducted by the University of Exeter revealed that increased acidity pushes sea animals to absorb more coastal pollutants such as copper.

Dr Ceri Lewis said that some animals' body chemistry may be able to adapt to changes caused by acidification, but others will not survive.

Tough corals, for example, are unlikely to be affected, Lewis said, but many of the branching and table corals which provide shelter for tropical fisheries may not last out the century.

The recent UN convention on biodiversity recently published a report which warned that it take many thousands of years for marine life to recover from increased acidity.