Color-coded maps of the ocean (in 2005 and projected in 2099) show areas where it is/will be easy for animals to make shells and skeletons (in colors of purple, red, orange, and yellow) and areas where making shells is/will be chemically difficult to impossible (dark and light blues). The maps are generated from current seawater measurements and projected values for the saturation state, a measure of solubility of calcium carbonate (aragonite). If projections hold, in much of the 2099 ocean, these animals, from plankton to corals, could be gone. (Figures courtesy Scott Doney, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)[back]
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