Ocean Acidification

Ocean Acidification: A reduction in pH of the ocean water caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (which is dissolved into the saltwater).

Ocean acidification is tied to the burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline, oil, coal, propane, and natural gas. These fuels help sustain industry, create electricity, heat homes & businesses, and fuel transportation, but as atmospheric levels of CO2 increase, the Earth's oceans also take up increasing levels, which acidifies the water and has widespread ecological impacts to the plants, animals, and other organisms, and the complex food webs of they are part of (and the human communities that rely on these food sources). The Hudson River Estuary is a critical ecosystem connecting freshwater habitats upstream with the Atlantic Ocean in the New York Harbor.

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