The western Arctic Ocean's chemistry is changing, according to a study that was published in the American Association for the Advancement of Science's journal "Science," after it was found that ocean waters there are becoming three to four times more acidic than ocean waters elsewhere.

The research team found a significant connection between the speeded-up rate of glacier melting and the rate of ocean acidification.

According to scientific predictions, this area's Arctic sea ice won't survive the region's increasingly warm summers by the year 2050.

The outcome will be an increase in acidity in the ocean's chemistry, which will pose a serious threat to the diverse variety of marine life, plants, and other living things that depend on a healthy ocean. For instance, crabs inhabit a crusty shell made of the calcium carbonate found in ocean water.

Seawater typically has a pH of 8.1, making it alkaline.

The melting of sea ice, which alters surface water in three main ways, is cited by the researchers as the principal process underlying this abrupt pH reduction.

First, the water beneath the sea ice, which had a deficiency of carbon dioxide, is now exposed to and can readily absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Because the ocean and meltwater are light and can't easily mix, the carbon dioxide is concentrated near the surface.

The seawater's capacity to convert carbon dioxide into bicarbonate is weakened by the meltwater, which also causes a sharp drop in the pH of the ocean.

Source: The Indian Express

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-climate/arctic-ice-melting-climate-change-8186502/