Earth Equity News

Noisier Oceans, an Increasing Problem for Marine Animals. By Richard A. Lovett, National Geographic, October 4, 2008. "As the world's oceans become more acidic, the underwater sounds that whales and other marine mammals depend on for survival may turn into a confusing racket, a new study says. That's because the ocean's ability to conduct sound is expected to increase dramatically due to global warming. The shift could make it easier for rare whales to find each other and reproduce, researchers say. More likely, though, the effect would be comparable to a person in a crowded place straining to talk over all the chatter. 'What that means is that the background level of noise in the ocean -- say wave noise or ship noise -- will increase,' said study co-author Peter Brewer, a geochemist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California. John Hocevar, oceans campaign director for Greenpeace USA, agreed. 'This is a real disaster for marine life,. he said... Ocean acidity... is projected to increase by .3 pH points between now and 2050. That may not seem like much, but the change will spur a 70 percent increase in the distance sound will travel."