Nature - As CO2-Rich Seawater Sinks, Ocean Floor To Become "Increasingly Acidic And Hostile" Place

[hatrack]

Engineered storage of carbon dioxide deep in the ocean has been suggested as a way of mitigating climate change, but some anthropogenic carbon dioxide has already begun to make its way to the ocean floor naturally. A new study finds that as carbon dioxide-rich surface water continues to sink over the coming centuries, the ocean floor will become an increasingly acidic and hostile habitat.

EDIT

Such changes could alter the composition of deep-sea communities. From tiny plankton to giant clams, many marine animals make their shells of calcium carbonate, which dissolves in acidic waters. The area of deep-sea floor favourable to these organisms could decrease by 58 percent, warn the researchers, who also predict a six percent decline in shell material preserved in the upper deep-sea sediment.

EDIT/END

http://www.nature.com/climate/2008/0804/full/climate.2008.21.html

(Very short article).

[Warpy]

1. There are bugs out there that thrive on acids

so it'll become hostile to a lot of the things living there now that will have to head for shallower water, but other life will take its place.