Lakes turning more acidic, scientists worry about global freshwater systems
With climate change wreaking havoc across the world as extreme weather events become more frequent and intense, scientists have a new worry.
Freshwater systems might be turning more acidic due to atmospheric carbon, which could make them less hospitable for some fish and plants.
Acidification from carbon dioxide overload in the atmosphere is different than acid rain caused by sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from fossil fuel burning for electric power generation or manufacturing. Acid rain covers relatively small areas and can be reduced with scrubbing equipment.
“If you change things chemically, you’re going to change how things behave and work and that includes the food web,” Reagan Errera, a research ecologist with NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory told The Associated Press.
Scientists are working on developing sensor networks to better monitor water chemistry. Two sensors have been attached to a floating weather buoy at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary near Alpena, Michigan. One measures carbon dioxide pressure in the water column and the other pH. Additionally, crews are collecting water samples at varying depths within the 4,300-square-mile (11,137-square-kilometer) area for chemical analysis.
The project is aimed at tracking the carbon dioxide and pH in all five Great Lakes over multiple years. The Great Lakes in the US comprise of five lakes including Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario.
Oceans are becoming more acidic as they absorb carbon dioxide that human activity pumps into the atmosphere — the primary cause of climate change. Acidification endangers coral reefs and other marine life. While researchers do not speculate it will completely lead to the extinction of marine life, it will definitely lead to major changes.
Studies based on computer models suggest the same thing may be happening in big freshwater systems. But few programs are conducting long-term monitoring to find out — or to investigate the ecological ripple effects.
“This doesn’t mean the waters are going to be unsafe to swim in. It’s not like we’re making super acid battery liquid,” said Galen McKinley, a Columbia University environmental sciences professor. “We’re talking about long-term change in the environment that to humans would be imperceptible.”
Researchers say Great Lakes also could approach acidity at around the same rate as in oceans by 2100. Data from the Lake Huron project will help determine if they’re right.