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Science Weekly

Is the ocean becoming too acidic to sustain life?

Science Weekly

The Guardian

Science

4.21K Ratings

🗓️ 26 September 2024

⏱️ 16 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Industrial civilisation is close to breaching a seventh planetary boundary, and may already have crossed it, according to scientists who have compiled the latest report on the state of the world’s life-support systems. They say ocean acidification is close to critical threshold, posing a threat to marine ecosystems and global liveability. Ian Sample speaks to Prof Helen Findlay, a biological oceanographer at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, to find out why the oceans have reached this state, and whether there is anything we can do to reverse the damage.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is the Guardian. about AI. AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built into. Service now puts

0:15.9

AI to work for people across your business, removing friction and frustration for

0:20.7

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0:25.0

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0:29.0

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0:32.0

That's why the world works with Service Now.

0:35.1

Visit service now.com slash UK slash AI for people. In the fight against climate change the oceans have been special property that allows them to actually hold a lot of the carbon in the oceans

0:57.9

which allows them to them take up that extra carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that we're

1:02.3

emitting through our greenhouse gases.

1:04.8

But now their capacity to store carbon is approaching a boundary.

1:09.2

Since the Industrial Revolution we've released carbon dioxide at such a rate that the oceans

1:14.0

actually have had to take up more of that carbon dioxide much more rapidly and so those

1:19.0

long-term natural geological processes haven't been able to keep pace.

1:24.0

And all this carbon capture has come at a cost.

1:27.0

Well, scientists in a report have emphasized that the oceans in the world are turning too acidic and are not able to sustain marine life

1:36.2

or even stabilize the climate.

1:38.8

According to a global health check published by climate scientists this week. Of the nine systems and processes that support life on our planet,

1:47.0

six are no longer able to function properly, and oceans are boys to become the seventh.

1:54.0

One thing is for certain, the ocean is sounding the alarm.

1:58.6

So why are our oceans struggling?

2:01.0

And what can we do for our biggest life support system?

2:05.0

I'm the Guardian Science Editor Ian Sample, and this is Science Weekly.

...

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