BEIJING: International researchers are developing techniques to monitor the acidity of oceans from space, using satellites that can orbit the Earth up to 700 km above us in hard-to-reach areas, like the Arctic, much faster than before.
The researchers stated that the technology that can revolutionize the way marine biologists and climate scientists study the ocean. Using the new approach the researchers can remotely monitor large swathes of inaccessible ocean from satellites that orbit the Earth some 700 km above our heads.
Jamie Shutler, Senior Lecturer in Ocean Science at the University of Exeter and the lead researcher in the study, said, “Satellites are likely to become increasingly important for the monitoring of ocean acidification, especially in remote and often dangerous waters like the Arctic.”
“We are pioneering these techniques so that we can monitor large areas of the Earth’s oceans allowing us to quickly and easily identify those areas most at risk from the increasing acidification,” added Shutler.
The researchers stated that each year, more than a quarter of global CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels and cement production are taken up by the Earth’s oceans. This process turns the seawater more acidic, making it more difficult for some marine life to live.
The rising CO2 emissions and the increasing acidity of seawater over the next century has the potential to devastate some marine ecosystems, which is a food resource on which we rely. Therefore, it is important to carefully monitor changes in ocean acidity.
