Researchers from California State University-San Marcos and the University of South Florida towed nets behind the vessel to catch plankton, which they then subjected to acidic conditions on par with what might be experienced in the future.
"They're seeing that the s s of these organisms start to dissolve even while the organism is still living," said Sabine, an oceanographer with NOAA's Seattle lab.
Some of the creatures tested are little snails that are "a major food source for salmon and whales and these larger things and they make a s that is very susceptible to a decrease in pH," he said.
Other experiments show that microscopic plants at the base of the food chain that build protective plates out of calcium carbonate don't grow properly in the acidic water.
"We don't expect to go out and find living organisms with dissolving s s," Sabine said. "We expect to find perhaps a change in where these organisms are thriving or perhaps fewer of them over time."
The ocean scientists expressed an urgency over reducing carbon dioxide emissions as soon as possible.
"Anything we can do to slow that rate of change will slow the rate of response in the oceans as well," said Kleypas. "It buys us some time."