The Problem

The world's oceans play an essential role in regulating our atmosphere. Seventy percent of the planet’s oxygen is produced by our oceans and they are vital in the management of atmospheric temperatures. Our oceans make Earth an inhabitable planet.

As the levels of carbon dioxide and heat rise in the atmosphere, so do their levels in the oceans. Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have added close to 1.5 trillion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The world's oceans have absorbed about a third of that amount. as well as 80 percent of the heat that has been added to the atmosphere as a result of carbon emmissions.

As the oceans become "full" of carbon dioxide, the rate at which they can continue to absorb carbon dioxide slows, resulting in more carbon dioxide remaining in the atmosphere and affecting our climate.

The impacts of absorbing such huge amounts of carbon dioxide and heat include ocean acidification, sea level rise, disrupted marine food webs and harsher storms among many other unforseeable consequences.