embedded by Embedded Video

The infinite secrets uncovered beneath the ocean waters are the current way that scientists travel back in time to peek into the past movements of this fast-paced and ever changing climate. But it is not just temperature levels that our interests are settled on. Diving deeper into the dark ocean waters scientists uncover an array of sediments that, once again, remind humanity of the interconnectedness of our coexistence here on earth. The South Atlantic, for example, possesses 55.5 million year old deposits of clay. The red color is part of a sedimentary sequence that projects the conditioning change of the acidity of ocean water. What does that mean? Well, as carbon dioxide rises into the atmosphere, our beautiful crystalline oceans continue to absorb almost half of it. Furthermore, the ocean turns CO2 into Carbonic Acid, which we drink in our sodas. According to paleo-oceanographer, James Zachos, among those most affected were the grain-sized bottom dwelling organism; one third of which are extinct.

During the industrialized times, the ocean was much more alkaline and 55 million years ago the pH shift was much more extreme but, as of today, the conditions indicate that we are surpassing this in through to the next century. If, indeed, this shift doubles by the year 2300, the pH of the ocean will approach 7.0, the dividing line between alkalinity and acidity.

The escalation of CO2 deposition is on a rampage. Research and environmental organizations, like H.O.P.E, tracks these changes through observing environmental trends and emphasize that consequences are inevitable at the pace that industrialization has escalated in. Indeed, 55.5 million years has been covered up by time but adding a big load of CO2 into the water in just a few millenniums is a drastic difference rather than adding the same amount in only a few centuries.