A science team from the University of Maine is looking to arctic algae for answers about the world's changing oceans. Researchers say recent experiments conducted on algae growing in coral-like reefs in Alaskan waters, indicate that the ocean has been acidifying at a rate that corresponds with rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, since the 19th century.
"The coralline alga can tell us something about ocean acidification, it can tell us about ocean composition. We're learning a lot about the changing ocean conditions over the last one to 200 years." says researcher Bob Steneck.
The findings, published Feb. 24 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer reviewed journal, add to a growing body of evidence linking the ocean's pH to the rise of the industrial age.
But Steneck says more data are needed to form a clearer picture of the ocean's behavior over time.
Currently, he says, the research team is trying to unlock climate secrets that go back a thousand years or more. "We sort of need to have a longer time line for looking at these changes,"explains Steneck. "this very old, long-lived coralline alga gives us that kind of time line."
While similar algae reefs exist in the Gulf of Maine, Steneck says they only live about 60 years or so. But the algae off Alaska's Aleutian chain are like the Redwoods of algae with potential to tell tales that predate the bulk of human industry.
The work involves the use of micro-isotopic imaging, where lasers measure isotope ratios of boron on a tiny scale.
Ocean acidification has become a topic of concern for coastal communities in Maine and elsewhere, as more acidic waters can devastate shell fish populations, including Maine's iconic lobster.
