Shell Dissolves in Seawater

Over a 10-year period NOAA scientists have collected 72,000 seawater samples, and their data show that the ocean is becoming more acidic because of climate change-caused warming. That small shift is enough to dissolve the shells of animals like this pteropod in the lab—or even in the ocean. Because of acidifying waters, pteropod shells have already started dissolving in the Southern Ocean.

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A shell placed in seawater with increased acidity slowly dissolves over 45 days.
Courtesy of David Littschwager/National Geographic Society

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