The End of Salt Water Pearls?

[J Marcus]

I would advise everyone who has any interest in salt water pearls to find, purchase and read the last issue of the science magazine Discover. There is a report in it about the acidification of the worlds oceans. It seems that the oceans have been soaking up huge amounts of CO2 since the industrial era began. Although it has slowed down the onset of global warming tremendously, all that CO2 creates carbonic acid in water. As the oceans acidify they are all too rapidly moving towards a point at which all marine organisms that have calcereous (with calcium) shells will no longer be able to form or maintain their shells. Among all the creatures that this will affect, such as crabs, sea urchins, much of the plankton, etc. are the "oysters," mussels, snails, clams etc.that form the pearls that we love so much. There have already been localized upwellings of acidic seawater that have been strong enough to damage shells. Assuming that we would survive such profound ecological changes, we would do so without saltwater pearls!!!

J. Marcus

 

[Heidi]

Here is a link to an NPR segment on the effect that increasing CO2 in the oceans is having on coral reefs. I have listened and read some other articles on this topic. The carbonic acid will prevent the shells from forming in the first place once it's at a critical concentration.

The most stunning part, in my mind, is the fact that the oceans have been absorbing excess CO2 (above what occurs naturally without human intervention) for a long while and this absorption has softened the apparent effects of our global emissions. As the waters reach saturation, we will see more in the atmosphere and the shell-bearing creatures will still be out of luck.

 

[J Marcus]

This report renders all of the schemes to cool the earth without reducing CO2 moot. Unless we reduce CO2 we still face disaster.

J. Marcus

 

[Slraep]

Hi J Marcus,

The scary subject was brought up on the Pollution in China thread post #55.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071017102133.htm

You can't believe how happy I am that you posted some more info on it. Any creature and any thing which needs to bind calcium for survival will be at peril. It is mind-boggling to even think about it. Molluscs, and to be most relevant to the main subject of this forum, pearl bearing bivalves, will not be able to bind calcium for a crude calcite shell let alone very fine aragonite for a pearl!

Slraep

 

[Slraep]

Snails and their shells disintegrating!?!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7437862.stm

Slraep