EcoWatch
Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k Subscribe Subscribe
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
      • Top Companies By State
        • California Solar Companies
        • Texas Solar Companies
        • New York Solar Companies
        • Florida Solar Companies
        • See All States
      • Top Incentives By State
        • California Solar Incentives
        • Texas Solar Incentives
        • New York Solar Incentives
        • Florida Solar Incentives
        • See All States
      • Solar Panel Costs By State
        • Solar Panel Costs in California
        • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
        • Solar Panel Costs in New York
        • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
        • See All States
      • Value of Solar by State
        • Is Solar Worth It In California?
        • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
        • Is Solar Worth It New York?
        • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
        • See All States
      • Company Reviews
        • Tesla Solar Review
        • Sunrun Solar Review
        • SunPower Solar Review
        • Vivint Solar Review
        • See All Companies
      • Common Solar Questions
        • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
        • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
        • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
        • Can You Finance Solar?
        • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
        • Payback On Solar Panels?
      • Solar Resources
        • Interactive Solar Calculator
        • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
        • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
        • Tesla Solar Roof Review
        • Cheapest Solar Panels
      • Companies Compared
        • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs SunPower
        • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
        • SunPower vs ADT Solar
EcoWatch
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
    • Go Solar Today
    • Top Companies By State
      • California Solar Companies
      • Texas Solar Companies
      • New York Solar Companies
      • Florida Solar Companies
      • See All States
    • Top Incentives By State
      • California Solar Incentives
      • Texas Solar Incentives
      • New York Solar Incentives
      • Florida Solar Incentives
      • See All States
    • Solar Panel Costs By State
      • Solar Panel Costs in California
      • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
      • Solar Panel Costs in New York
      • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
      • See All States
    • Value of Solar by State
      • Is Solar Worth It In California?
      • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
      • Is Solar Worth It New York?
      • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
      • See All States
    • Company Reviews
      • Tesla Solar Review
      • Sunrun Solar Review
      • SunPower Solar Review
      • Vivint Solar Review
      • See All Companies
    • Common Solar Questions
      • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
      • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
      • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
      • Can You Finance Solar?
      • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
      • Payback On Solar Panels?
    • Solar Resources
      • Interactive Solar Calculator
      • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
      • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
      • Tesla Solar Roof Review
      • Cheapest Solar Panels
    • Companies Compared
      • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs SunPower
      • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
      • SunPower vs ADT Solar

The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    EcoWatch
    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    Home Oceans

    Plastics Increase Acidity of the World’s Oceans, Study Finds

    By: Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
    Updated: October 12, 2022
    Edited by Chris McDermott
    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon
    Turkish free-diver Sahika Encumen dives amid plastic waste in Istanbul, Turkey
    Turkish free-diver Sahika Encumen dives amid plastic waste in Istanbul, Turkey on June 27, 2020. Sebnem Coskun / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
    Why you can trust us

    Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

    The trillions of pieces of plastic that end up in Earth’s oceans each year are wreaking havoc on the hundreds of thousands of marine organisms who live there. Mammals like whales and smaller organisms like fish ingest plastic particles, which contain toxins that stay in the animals’ bodies and are passed along to the organisms that feed on them, while dolphins, turtles and other marine life become entangled in discarded fishing nets.

    Now, new research has shown that, not only does plastic harm marine animals, it also contributes to ocean acidification.

    Ocean acidification occurs when the pH levels of the planet’s oceans decrease due to their uptake of human-produced carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Higher levels of acidity in the ocean makes it hard for organisms that use calcification — like corals, oysters, urchins and planktons — to build their skeletons. When these organisms falter, it can affect other marine species that rely on them for habitat and food.

    A new study led by scientists from Barcelona’s Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) has found that the interaction of plastic with sunlight causes a mixture of chemicals to be released into the ocean, reported Mongabay. The organic acids that are leached into the ocean lower the seawater’s pH and cause a rise in acidity. Plastic deteriorating in the sun can also result in a release of carbon dioxide, causing pH levels to fall even further.

    “The main factor producing the acidification is the greenhouse gas emissions that are dissolved in the ocean,” postdoctoral researcher at ICM-CSIC Cristina Romera-Castillo, who was lead author of the study, told Mongabay. “But I think it’s interesting to know that plastic is also contributing to the acidification.”

    The study, “Abiotic plastic leaching contributes to ocean acidification,” was published in the journal Science of The Total Environment.

    About 30 percent of the carbon emissions produced by humans are absorbed by the world’s oceans, which has caused a decrease in pH levels, Mongabay reported, with the corresponding rise in acidity. Ocean acidification doesn’t happen equally across the world, however. The pH of surface waters has gone down an average of about 0.1 pH units, which has caused many changes that will be exacerbated if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase.

    “Thanks to this study we have been able to prove that in highly plastic-polluted ocean surface areas, plastic degradation will lead to a drop of up to 0.5 pH units, which is comparable to the pH drop estimated in the worst anthropogenic emissions scenarios for the end of the 21st century,” Romera-Castillo said, as reported by Earth.com.

    The research team used new plastics and aged plastics gathered from beaches in the Canary Islands for their study, Mongabay reported. The plastic fragments were placed inside glass bottles full of seawater and exposed to levels of ultraviolet light comparable to those of the sun. 

    The scientists found that old, decaying plastic released higher levels of broken down organic carbon into the ocean. After just six days of sunlight exposure, a significant amount of organic carbon was released by older plastics, leading to a marked decrease in pH, reported Earth.com. However, new low-intensity polyethylene (LDPE), polystyrene and plastic fragments that were biodegradable did not cause pH to fall considerably.  

    “I think it’s important that people know about this phenomenon,” marine biologist and ocean acidification expert at the University of Plymouth Jason Hall-Spencer, who was not involved in the study, told Mongabay, “because what we’re often told is that plastics, once they get into the ocean, will last for millions of years, won’t break down or be there effectively forever.”

    How much plastic contributes to ocean acidification is another question. Hall-Spencer said that the effects of plastic acidification could be lessened by the mixing of the water by the ocean’s currents and waves. Carbon dioxide-consuming organisms encrusted on the plastics could also mitigate the amount of acidification the plastics contributed, Hall-Spencer said, adding that much of the ocean plastic falls to the seafloor, away from sunlight.

    Plymouth Marine Laboratory marine ecologist and co-chair of the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network Stephen Widdicombe, who was also not involved in the study, pointed out that the findings of the study are important because they demonstrate that plastic could further coastline ocean acidification, though additional research would be necessary to determine if the same results would occur in a broader, natural setting.

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Cristen is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. She holds a JD and an Ocean & Coastal Law Certificate from University of Oregon School of Law and an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. She is the author of the short story collection The Smallest of Entryways, as well as the travel biography, Ernest’s Way: An International Journey Through Hemingway’s Life.
      Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

      Read More

      Texas Education Officials Weaken Climate Science in Textbooks
      The Texas State Board of Education changed its guidelines last
      By Climate Nexus
      Arctic Sea Ice Maximum Extent Is Fifth Lowest on Record
      The Arctic sea ice extent for the Northern Hemisphere winter
      By Olivia Rosane
      Global Freshwater Demand Will Exceed Supply 40% by 2030, Experts Warn
      Samuel Taylor Coleridge first published the poem “The Rime of
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

        By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

        Latest Articles

        • Texas Education Officials Weaken Climate Science in Textbooks
          by Climate Nexus
          March 20, 2023
        • Arctic Sea Ice Maximum Extent Is Fifth Lowest on Record
          by Olivia Rosane
          March 17, 2023
        • Global Freshwater Demand Will Exceed Supply 40% by 2030, Experts Warn
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          March 17, 2023
        • Train Derails, Leaks an Estimated 5,000 Gallons of Fuel on Reservation in Washington
          by Paige Bennett
          March 17, 2023
        • Forest Recovery Can Offset Some Tropical Deforestation Emissions, But Not All
          by Olivia Rosane
          March 17, 2023
        • Two Aging UK Coal Plants to Shutter in March Despite Government Requests to Remain on Standby
          by Olivia Rosane
          March 17, 2023
        • Meet Europe’s Latest National Park, A Wild River in the Heart of Albania
          by Olivia Rosane
          March 17, 2023
        • Volkswagen Announces Plans for a More Affordable Electric Car
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          March 16, 2023
        EcoWatch

        The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

          • Climate Climate
          • Animals Animals
          • Health + Wellness Health + Wellness
          • Insights + Opinion Insights + Opinion
          • Adventure Adventure
          • Oceans Oceans
          • Business Business
          • Solar Solar
          • About EcoWatch
          • Contact EcoWatch
          • EcoWatch Reviews
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Learn About Solar Energy
          • Learn About Deregulated Energy
          • EcoWatch UK
          Follow Us
          Facebook 573k
          Twitter 238k
          Instagram 37k
          Subscribe Subscribe

          Experts for a healthier planet and life.

          Mentioned by:
          Learn more