The Pacific Ocean's acidification is so severe, Dungeness crabs' shells are dissolving

With the Pacific turning acidic in nature, Dungeness crabs residing in the coastal areas of the ocean are reportedly first to be affected by the ocean's acidification. The Dungeness crab is important to the source of income for fisheries located in the Pacific Northwest but low pH levels in the crabs' habitat are resulting in damage to its sensory organs and shells.

Scientists surprised at the rapid development

According to Science of the Total Environment magazine, injuries to the affected crabs could affect economies of coastal areas and also indicate potential obstacles in the changing properties of the sea. Scientists are surprised at the development and have stated that they did not expect acidity of the ocean water to damage shells of crabs at such a rapid rate.

A scientist, Nina Bednarsek said that with the crabs being affected at such a rapid rate, it is imperative to keep in check and pay more attention to various aspects of the food chain before it causes irreversible damage.

The NOAA funded journal states that the acidic nature of the ocean waters leads to corrosion of Dungeness crab shells that hampers the crabs' ability to avoid predators and maintain their buoyancy in water. Reports suggest that tiny hairy structures used by crabs for navigation were also damaged by low pH levels in the water. Loss of the tiny hairy structures could hamper the crabs' ability to properly swim and search for food in order to sustain themselves.

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A lot of CO2 is being absorbed from the atmosphere

According to reports, the Pacific ocean is turning acidic in nature because a lot of carbon dioxide is being absorbed from the atmosphere which ultimately results in a lower pH level in the ocean water. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says that acidification of oceans results in changing of coasts. It further leads to an increase in sea temperatures and salinity levels. For marine life such as crabs and coral that rely on carbonate ions, it gets difficult for them to build strong shells in acidic waters.

The NOAA said that in order to tackle the problem of acidification of ocean waters, the overall carbon footprints need to be reduced in order to reduce the Co2 being absorbed by the sea.

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(with inputs from agencies)