Blog readers will already know about the hydrothermal vents along the Italian coastline, some of which vent pure carbon dioxide into the sea at normal temperatures. In conjunction with our coworkers we’ve examined these vents as potential ‘living laboratories’ which give us a glimpse of marine life in future high carbon dioxide / low pH oceans. This photgraph, by Jimmy Harris (see link below), shows the Castello Aragonese near Naples, Italy. Yes, the Italian translates to the ‘Aragonate Castle’. It’s carved into the calcium carbonate rock of the island. Want to see more? Well our colleague, Jason Hall Spencer, has some great YouTube videos of the site, above and below the waterline. Well, we thought the title of a recent blog post article, “Hot Tub Time Machine” by Elizabeth Kolbert, was clever. Here’s the link: Off the coast of Italy, CO2-spewing vents are giving scientists a glimpse at the acidic oceans of our future. The results are frightening.by Elizabeth Kolbert @ElizKolbert • February 11, 2014 This article is adapted from the author’s new book, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, on sale today. http://www.onearth.org/articles/2014/02/elizabeth-kolberts-scary-swim-in-the-acidic-oceans-of-tomorrow. We haven’t read the book yet. Have you? If so, what did you think?
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