The updated ocean acidification indicator shows there has been a decrease in the pH of Aotearoa New Zealand's
subantarctic surface waters as they have become more acidic, Stats NZ said today.
Between 1998 and 2020, ocean acidity in Aotearoa New Zealand’s subantarctic surface waters increased 8.6 percent
corresponding to a pH decrease from 8.092 to 8.057. Because the pH scale is logarithmic, small changes in pH represent
large changes in acidity. Changes in pH in the open ocean are primarily influenced by absorption of atmospheric carbon
dioxide by seawater.
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