How Do Melting Glaciers Change Ocean Chemistry? Scientists have
known for years that greenhouse gasses are altering the chemical
makeup of our oceans. More and more carbon dioxide is dissolving
into salt water, creating carbonic acid. That changes the
ocean’s pH, or acid-alkaline balance. And it’s hitting harder in
Alaska. “We really have a unique environment that’s
preconditioned to already be sensitive to ocean acidification,”
says Jeremy Mathis, who directs the University of Alaska
Fairbanks Ocean Acidification Research Center. He’s also an
oceanographer with NOAA’s Pacific Marin Environmental Lab in
Seattle. Jeremy Mathis directs the University of Alaska
Fairbanks Ocean Acidification Research Center. “Then, as more
and more carbon dioxide is added into that environment, it
pushes past a threshold where the waters can actually become
corrosive,” he says. While northern waters are of particular
risk, scientists are trying to get a better handle on timing and
location. That’s why Mathis is researching change