The same things that make Alaska's marine waters among the most productive in the world may also make them the most vulnerable to ocean acidification. According to new findings by a University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist, Alaska's oceans are becoming increasingly acidic, which could damage Alaska's king crab and salmon fisheries.

Recent Research published in the January–February issue of Soil Science Society of America Journal shows that soil acidification poses a continuing threat to the health of forests in the northeastern United States.

By absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and from the human use of fossil fuels, the world's seas function as a giant buffer for the Earth's life support system. The chemical balance of the sea has long been regarded as immovable.

In forests of the northeastern United States, sulfate and nitrate are the dominant dissolved forms of sulfur and nitrogen in precipitation. In winter, these acidic agents accumulate in the snowpack and are released to groundwater and streams over a short period of time during spring snowmelt.

The first buoy to monitor ocean acidification has been launched in the Gulf of Alaska. Attached to the 10-foot-diameter buoy are sensors to measure climate indicators.