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Changing chemistry

Ocean acidification—a consequence of increased carbon dioxide emissions from human industrial activity—could harm a wide range of marine organisms and the food webs that depend on them. Mollusks, including oysters, clams and scallops, which support valuable marine fisheries, are particularly sensitive to changes in seawater pH. Ocean acidification could cause U.S. shellfish revenues to drop significantly in the next 50 years, according to a study by WHOI scientists Sarah Cooley and Scott Doney. (Photo by Erin Koenig, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)