Sounds like fun but wait until you get to know what it really is! It’s not the type of Jacuzzi you are used to relaxing in but rather volcanic vents that spew carbon dioxide similar to bubbly effects of a Jacuzzi.
These vents have naturally acidified waters that hint at how our seas might change if atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise. They are conditions that would make it harder for corals and similar organisms to make the hard parts in their bodies.
Study suggests that our oceans could lose perhaps 30% of their biodiversity this century. Researchers treat the vents like a time machine wherein swimming towards them, the pH level of the water falls and one can use particular locations to simulate what the open ocean will be like in the decades ahead if emissions of atmospheric CO2 go unchecked and much of the that gas is absorbed into sea.
The CO2 is a stressor and some organisms can adapt but there're only a few species that can handle it. Extending the gradient up to the year 2100 represents a 30% loss in biodiversity.
At the end of last year, published findings on one volcanic vent site off Ischia Island near Vesuvius as well as soon-to-be-published data gathered at other volcanic vents in Europe, Baja California and Papua New Guinea which all show the same outcomes as at Ischia.
What's strange is that we see some organisms really up-regulate their physiology to try to cope with conditions - they grow faster just like humans panting for oxygen at high altitude.
The world's oceans have already absorbed a third to a half of the CO2 produced by humans, principally by the burning of fossil fuels, over the past 200 years. This has resulted in a reduction of the pH of seawater by 0.1 units on the 14-point scale. If emissions of CO2 continue to rise as forecast, there could be another drop in pH up to perhaps 0.4 units by 2100.
These are changes that are occurring far too fast for the oceans to correct naturally, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa)
Fifty-five million years ago when we had an event such as this (it took over 10,000 years to occur), it took the oceans over 125,000 years to recover, just to get the chemistry back to normal. It took two to 10 million years for the organisms to re-evolve, to get back into a normal situation.
This may sound like a bunch of scientific jargon to those of us who do not have that much interest in ecological studies but in the end all of us would fall victims should this impending catastrophe is not averted. Plainly put, when its harder for organisms that make up the oceans rich environment results in a great decrease in what we can harvest / eat in terms of fish and seafood that we need to support our own personal balance of food intake. If that happens then we are surely going into a steep decline in population which cascades into other more pressing humanitarian problems for all of us.
