Rising acidity is a major reef threat

SYDNEY - The Associated Press

Oceans’ rising acid levels have emerged as one of the biggest threats to coral reefs, acting as the “osteoporosis of the sea” and threatening everything from food security to tourism to livelihoods, the head of a U.S. scientific agency said yesterday.

The speed by which the oceans’ acid levels has risen caught scientists off-guard, with the problem now considered to be climate change’s “equally evil twin,” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco said.

“We’ve got sort of the perfect storm of stressors from multiple places really hammering reefs around the world,” said Lubchenco. “It’s a very serious situation.”