Climate claims on acid oceans ‘unreliable’
HUNDREDS of doom-laden studies about the effects of climate change on the Earth’s oceans may be flawed and unreliable, a major review has found.
For years, scientists have warned that rising levels of carbon dioxide are making our seas more acidic – and that this spells disaster for marine life.
But a review of hundreds of studies into the effects of acidity on sea creatures suggests the vast majority may be unreliable or not fit for purpose.
The review – by two experts in Australia – said only 27 of more than 400 studies into the issue were appropriately carried out.
It is the latest research to highlight difficulties with many of the doom-mongering predictions about climate change.
Last month, experts from University College London highlighted how the ice-cap in the Arctic actually regrew by 40 per cent in 2013 – surprising scientists.
Christopher Cornwall, who studies ocean acidification at the University of Western Australia, and ecologist Catriona Hurd of the University of Tasmania wrote in their paper in the ICES Journal of Marine Science: ‘This analysis identified that most laboratory manipulation experiments in ocean acidification research used either an inappropriate experimental design and/or data analysis, or did not report these details effectively. To test the effect on ocean creatures – whether lobsters, plankton, mussels, or fish is a complex business.’
Errors have been identified in experiments which are set up using large tanks of seawater.