There’s an acidic zone 13,000 feet beneath the ocean surface — and it’s getting bigger

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1. > The calcite compensation depth is a biological boundary with distinct habitats above and below it. In the northeast Pacific, the most abundant seabed organisms above the calcite compensation depth are soft corals, brittle stars, mussels, sea snails, chitons and bryozoans, all of which have calcified shells or skeletons.

   > However, below the calcite compensation depth, sea anemones, sea cucumbers and octopus are more abundant. This under-saturated (more acidic) habitat already limits life in 54.4 million square miles (141 million square kilometres) of the ocean and could expand by another 13.5 million square miles (35 million sq/km) if the calcite compensation depth were to rise by 980 feet.

   > In addition to the expansion of the calcite compensation depth, parts of the ocean in low latitudes are losing species because the water is getting too warm and oxygen levels are declining, both also due to climate change.

   > *Thus, the most liveable habitat space for marine species is shrinking from the bottom (rising calcite compensation depth) and the top (warming).*

   A really interesting and alarming (if unsurprising) read with a lot of scientific explanations and diagrams. The main takeaway – climate change is changing the composition of life in our oceans from top to bottom.