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Buckets o’ Clams

WHOI scientists Dan McCorkle (pictured) and Anne Cohen, with colleagues James Widman and Lisa Milke from the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, grew larval surfclams (Spisula solidissima) under different levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) and at different feeding rates to see whether enhanced feeding could offset the stress caused by elevated CO₂. High CO₂ levels in the atmosphere cause the water to become more acidic, which makes it harder for clams and other marine animals to grow and maintain calcium carbonate shells and skeletons. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)