Acidic oceans will reduce sea life, says study 研究說酸性化海洋會導致海洋生物減少

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學習要點

有關“biology 生物學”的詞匯

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Which sea creature could have its population reduced by a quarter if levels of CO2 are left to rise in the sea?

文字稿

Here is the effect of carbon dioxide on sea water. These bubbles contain natural CO2 from an underwater volcano in Papua New Guinea. Few sea creatures can live here because the CO2 has made nearby water more acidic. Swim away from those vents, and what a difference.

The sea’s chemistry returns to normal. And wonderful reef life can thrive. But industrial society is churning out CO2 on a massive scale. And the gas is being absorbed into seawater round the world, making it all more acidic.

Dr Simon Boxall, Oceanographer
This comprehensive study confirms what we have been observing globally. Ocean suffocation is a problem. Acidity is increasing, and that’s not just having an impact on the ecology which we’re seeing already. But it will have an impact on us as humans further down the line.

Take one fish we love to eat, cod. The research shows that baby cod are especially sensitive to more acidic water. It projects that if CO2 levels rise unchecked, we should expect only a quarter as many cod in the seas. Some species will thrive with the changes, the scientists say, like some seaweeds. But the report warns that all sea life will be affected by the disruption of the food web in the seas.

這就是二氧化碳對海水產生的影響。這些氣泡中含有巴佈亞新幾內亞的一座海底火山所產生的天然二氧化碳。幾乎沒有海洋生物能在這裡得以生存，這是因為二氧化碳使附近的水域酸化。如果你遊離這些排出二氧化碳的氣孔，就會發現海水環境大有不同。

海水的化學性質會變回正常值。礁類生物能夠繁盛生長。但工業社會正在大規模且快速地產出二氧化碳，而廢氣則被世界各處的海水所吸收，導致海洋酸化愈發嚴重。

西蒙·伯克斯爾博士 海洋學傢
這項綜合性研究證實瞭已在全球范圍內被觀察到的現象。因海水脫氧而造成的“海洋窒息”是一個急需解決的問題。我們已經看到，日益升高的海水酸度影響到瞭生態環境。但除此之外，在未來，它還會波及人類自身。

就拿我們愛吃的鱈魚來打個比方吧。該研究顯示，鱈魚幼崽對酸性更高的水體格外敏感。據推測，如果持續升高的二氧化碳水平得不到遏制，未來鱈魚的數量將減至目前的四分之一。科學傢們說，有些海洋物種並不會受到這一變化的影響，仍會茂盛地生長，比如海藻。但該報告提醒人們，一旦海洋食物網遭到破壞，所有海洋生物都會受到影響。

詞匯

creatures
生物

thrive
茁壯、茂盛地生長

ecology
生態系統，生態環境

species
物種

food web
食物網

你知道嗎？

Around 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by oceans. Despite this, it is estimated that 95% of the world’s oceans and 99% of the ocean floor are unexplored. This is due to the difficulty, time and cost needed to do so.

地球表面約70%的部分都被海洋覆蓋。盡管如此，據估計，世界海洋的95%及海底的99%仍未經勘查。這是由於考察的難度大、耗時長和所需成本高。