Close up image of mussels with small, white barnacles on their shells.

Acidification

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A shell placed in seawater with increased acidity slowly dissolves over 45 days.

Ocean Acidification Overview

Are you a student researching ocean acidification or someone looking to learn more about ocean acidification? This overview dives into everything to know.

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Featured Content

A pair of sea butterflies float in the Arctic ocean.

Searching for the Ocean Acidification Signal

Intense volcanic CO2 vents in Ili Ili Bua Bua, Normanby Island, Papua New Guinea.

Will Coral Reefs Survive Acidification?

This orange boring sponge (Cliona varians) overgrows several coral species at Panama's Smithsonian Tropical Studies Institute.

Ocean Acidification Excites Boring Sponges

Harmful effects of ocean acidification are especially noticeable in near-shore environments where ocean life is highly concentrated. Thankfully newer, more cost-effective technology has allowed scientists to double down on monitoring efforts along sho

Carbon in our Seas: Measuring Ocean Acidification

A screenshot from the beginning of the video "Facing Climate Change: Oyster Farmers"

Facing Climate Change: Oyster Farmers

Are You An Educator?

At Smithsonian Ocean, we have lesson plans, activities, and resources to help you engage your students in the wonders of our oceans.

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Acidification Articles

A diver cares for the reef by cleaning up discarded fishing gear and garbage.

Reef Rescue: Protect Coral Reefs with Your Actions

A pair of sea butterflies float in the Arctic ocean.

Searching for the Ocean Acidification Signal

Tiny organisms found on ARMS

Traveling Around the World to Study the Future of the Ocean

Tiny organisms found on ARMS

From Field to Lab: How Carbon Seeps Provide a Chance to See Future Impacts of Ocean Acidification

Where the pH is the lowest, corals can no longer grow - sand, rubble and seagrasses replace the reef.

Sneak Peek: Future of Coral Reefs in an Acidifying Ocean

This orange boring sponge (Cliona varians) overgrows several coral species at Panama's Smithsonian Tropical Studies Institute.

Ocean Acidification Excites Boring Sponges

Many species of pink coralline algae, which cements coral reefs together, cover a reef surface in the Southern Line Islands.

Coralline Algae: The Unsung Architects of Coral Reefs

Forams are tiny single-celled organisms.

Trials and Tribulations with Contamination

Ari Daniel Shapiro and Dr.Randi Rotjan of the New England Aquarium, journey to the Phoenix Islands to study coral bleaching.

Coral Reefs: One Species at a Time

A shell placed in seawater with increased acidity slowly dissolves over 45 days.

Ocean Acidification

Intense volcanic CO2 vents in Ili Ili Bua Bua, Normanby Island, Papua New Guinea.

Will Coral Reefs Survive Acidification?

A bluefin trevally swims in Hawaii’s Maro Coral Reef, part of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Two Views of Coral Reefs: Thriving and Threatened

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