Please note: You are viewing the unstyled version of this website. Either your browser does not support CSS (cascading style sheets) or it has been disabled. Skip navigation.
ESL Home
Research at ESL
Tank Space Management
Contact Us/Subscribe

Image : Ocean Acidification: A Risky Shell Game

  Email    Print  PDF  Change text to small (default) Change text to medium Change text to large


At the microscopic level, blocks of calcium carbonate crystals in conch shells can dissolve away in more acidic conditions caused by high carbon dioxide (CO2). The conch on the right, reared under CO2 levels in today's atmosphere, produced a shell with orderly blocks of crystals, while the conch on the left, grown under 2,850 ppm CO2 conditions, produced irregular, disordered blocks with etched surfaces. (Micrograph by Justin Ries, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

[back]


Last updated: February 21, 2012
 


whoi logo

Copyright ©2007 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, All Rights Reserved, Privacy Policy.
Problems or questions about the site, please contact webdev@whoi.edu