Ocean Acidification destroying Antarctic marine life

 
The research took place in the Southern Ocean
 

Marine snails in seas around Antarctica are being

affected by ocean acidification, scientists have found.

An international team of researchers found that the snails' shells are being

corroded.

Experts says the findings are significant for predicting the future impact of

ocean acidification on marine life.

The results of the study are published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

The marine snails, called "pteropods", are an important link in the oceanic

food chain as well as a good indicator of ecosystem health.
 

"They are a major grazer of phytoplankton and... a key

prey item of a number of higher predators - larger plankton, fish, seabirds,

whales," said Dr Geraint Tarling, Head of Ocean Ecosystems at the British

Antarctic Survey (BAS) and co-author of the report.

The study was a combined project involving researchers from the BAS, the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the US Woods Hole

Oceanographic Institution and the University of East Anglia's school of

Environmental Sciences.

Ocean acidification is a result of burning fossil fuels: some of the