In the southeastern US, tornadoes are a Spring phenomenon, usually. North Georgia is experiencing a storm that is out of season and potentially dangerous. The jet stream is whacked, to use non scientific terms. Here's a link to local weather: http://www.wsbtv.com.
Last edited by lindabaker on Tue Nov 30, 2010 8:18 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : correction of link address)
The biggest earthquake in 18 years hit the New York area at 10:46 AM Tuesday morning. The US Geological Survey says the epicenter of the 3.8 quake was in the Atlantic Ocean off the shore of New Jersey and New York, far away from anything else to do serious damage. However residents of Long Island reported feeling a low tremor. "It was a short rumble, a really low rumble," Smithtown resident Eric Weaver told the Long Island Press.
_________________ What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol
unusually high temperatures in Cyprus, 30 degrees C, while very low in Poland, France, UK, Germany.In the traditionally coldest place in poland last night there was minus 26.
burgundia wrote:unusually high temperatures in Cyprus, 30 degrees C, while very low in Poland, France, UK, Germany.In the traditionally coldest place in poland last night there was minus 26.
Yes I think you and I have very similar type of winters. It is more England and France that is abnormal.
It has been very nice here in Canada this fall. The 30 and 90 day projections are well above normal here. We have no snow on the ground. A little in the air is all.
i see my friends in the UK~ are also experiencing this usual weather
Snow and ice causes disruption as cold spell continues
1 December 2010 The early cold spell has taken everyone by surprise
Large parts of the UK have been brought to a standstill by the early freeze Continue reading the main story
The UK is in the grip of one of the coldest starts to December in more than 20 years with snow and ice causing road, rail and airport chaos.
Temperatures plummeted to -16C (3F) in the Highlands and 4,000 schools across the UK were unable to open.
Edinburgh and Gatwick airports will be shut until at least Thursday, and there were rail cancellations and delays.
The Met Office has issued heavy snow warnings for much of the eastern side of Britain and some central areas.
Rail companies said they were working "flat out" to get as many trains running as possible.
The Forth Road Bridge was closed for the first time since it opened in 1964 but has now reopened.
Avalanche warning
In England, heavy snow warnings are in place for the North East, Yorkshire and Humber, East Midlands, East, and London and the South.
In Scotland the warnings apply to Grampian, Strathclyde, Central, Tayside and Fife, and South West, Lothian and Borders.
More than 250,000 Scottish children have had a day off - about 40% of all those of school age - many for the third consecutive day, with a third of councils closing all their schools.
Some local authorities have told parents that schools will remain closed for the rest of the week. In total, more than 1,500 of 2,722 schools were shut.
An avalanche warning has been issued in the Cairngorms, near Aviemore, where hundreds of skiers took to the slopes on Tuesday.
Police are advising people not to travel unless absolutely necessary - especially in the worst-hit areas of Scotland, Yorkshire, Derbyshire and south-east England.
Supt Chris Moon, of Surrey Police, said the county's conditions were the worst he had ever seen and were likely to deteriorate further.
He added: "I have put out several severe weather warnings in my career, but this one I really must stress."
Police in Kent have advised freight traffic not to enter the county unless absolutely necessary as gale force winds are forecast. Some roads in the west and north of the county are impassable due to snow and ice.
'People moving'
Thousands of rail commuters face severe disruption to their journeys in Scotland and northern England, particularly in the Sheffield area. London and the South East also suffered.
Southeastern trains, which runs out of London Victoria and Charing Cross, is operating an emergency timetable and services will finish early.
I had a text from the photographer who couldn't get through, the wedding car couldn't get through, so I decided: I can't wear my dress without ruining it so we'll postpone”
There are delays on the East Coast Main Line, with an hourly service between London and Edinburgh, and reduced services between London and both Leeds and Newcastle.
Passengers face delays of up to an hour on Eurostar services.
About one third of all rail services were suffering delays or cancellations at Wednesday lunchtime.
Ashwin Kumar, of rail watchdog Passenger Focus, called on train companies to do all they could to make life easier for their customers.
He said: "We need better information systems so that we can cope when disruption does happen."
The Association of Train Operating Companies said rail operators and Network Rail were "doing all they can to keep trains moving and get people to where they need to be".
One of the worst affected areas of England is South Yorkshire, where snowfall of up to 30cm (12in) has brought parts of the county to a standstill.
About 300 schools are shut, bus services have been suspended in Sheffield, Rotherham, and Doncaster, and there are delays and cancellations on train services between Sheffield and Leeds, as well as flights being halted at Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster.
Hospitals in South Yorkshire are asking patients not to attend unless it is urgent, and they have asked off-duty medical staff to make their way into work if possible.
Sheffield City Council has cancelled a full council meeting for the first time and the Halifax Courier newspaper has not made it out, also for the first time, because it is stuck at the printers in Sheffield. Night journey
Overnight temperatures hit a low of -20C (-4F) in Altnaharra in the Highlands. Snowy sheep, Ashford, Kent The early cold spell has taken everyone by surprise
BBC weather forecaster Tomasz Schafernaker said there was 1m (3ft) of snow across parts of north-east England.
More heavy snow was expected on Wednesday afternoon and evening across southern England from Hampshire to southern Essex and possibly into London.
There could be up to 30cm of snow in southern England by the end of Thursday. There will also be more snow showers in north-east England.
On Thursday night, temperatures of up to -25C (-13F) to -30C (-22F) in some parts of Scotland are forecast.
The disruption on Wednesday includes:
* Severe disruption for air passengers at Gatwick Airport where its runways are closed until 1000 GMT on Thursday. Edinburgh Airport is also closed until at least Thursday morning. Guernsey Airport, Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster and Durham Tees Valley Airport are also shut, while other airports are disrupted. Passengers are advised to check with their airline * Hundreds of school closures in England, including nearly 1,000 full or partial closures in West, North and South Yorkshire, about 330 schools in Essex, about 550 in the South East and Surrey, more than 800 in the East Midlands and 195 across Tyneside, Wearside, County Durham and Northumberland. In Jersey, all the island's schools were closed * The M8 motorway between Glasgow and Edinburgh is down to one lane in each direction * In Kent the M20 is closed with long delays for London-bound traffic between J3, M26 and J1, M25, because of ice, snow and a jack-knifed lorry. * In Derbyshire, one lane is closed on the M1 southbound, with delays between J29, A617 (Chesterfield) and J28, A38 (Alfreton), because of recovery work and a jack-knifed lorry * In West Yorkshire, one lane is blocked on the M62 in both directions between J23, A640 (Huddersfield) and J26, M606 (Chain Bar), because of snow * The Lincolnshire village of Binbrook has been effectively cut off since Monday. Local shops are beginning to run out of supplies
In Sheffield, bride-to-be Tracy Gell had to call off her big day because it turned out to be too much of a white wedding.
She told the BBC: "I had a text from the photographer who couldn't get through, the wedding car couldn't get through, so I decided: I can't wear my dress without ruining it so we'll postpone."
On Tuesday evening many drivers and rail passengers were stuck for hours as the weather worsened.
Tony Scott started his journey home from London to Tunbridge in Kent at 1730 GMT on Tuesday and had still not arrived home 10 hours later.
She told the BBC: "I had a text from the photographer who couldn't get through, the wedding car couldn't get through, so I decided: I can't wear my dress without ruining it so we'll postpone."
On Tuesday evening many drivers and rail passengers were stuck for hours as the weather worsened.
Tony Scott started his journey home from London to Tunbridge in Kent at 1730 GMT on Tuesday and had still not arrived home 10 hours later.
The AA had attended 11,300 breakdowns across the UK by 1500 GMT on Wednesday, with the busiest areas said to be London, especially the south of the capital, Yorkshire, Kent, north-east England and Aberdeen.
The motoring organisation said there had been a failure to deal with jams on motorways and major roads, and breakdown service Green Flag said local authorities had not spread enough grit on minor roads.
Halfords said an additional 16,600 sledges were being shipped in to meet increased demands.
* Wednesday, December 01, 2010 at 19:31:34 UTC * Wednesday, December 01, 2010 at 11:31:34 AM at epicenter
Location34.024°N, 117.214°W Depth18.6 km (11.6 miles) RegionGREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA Distances
* 4 km (3 miles) SE (128°) from Loma Linda, CA * 5 km (3 miles) SW (227°) from Redlands, CA * 10 km (6 miles) WSW (243°) from Mentone, CA * 11 km (6 miles) S (186°) from Highland, CA * 11 km (7 miles) N (7°) from Moreno Valley, CA * 95 km (59 miles) E (92°) from Los Angeles Civic Center, CA
Location Uncertaintyhorizontal +/- 0.3 km (0.2 miles); depth +/- 0.7 km (0.4 miles) ParametersNph=151, Dmin=9 km, Rmss=0.42 sec, Gp= 29°, M-type=local magnitude (ML), Version=3 Source
Heavy Snow Causes Severe Disruption in Europe Published: Wednesday, 1 Dec 2010
Heavy snow and subzero temperatures swept across Europe, killing at least eight homeless people in Poland, closing major airports in Britain and Switzerland and causing hundreds of highway accidents.
Workmen clear snow from Edinburgh Airport car park on December 1, 2010 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Freezing weather conditions and heavy snow have forced Scotland's main airport to close for the day.
Gatwick, London's second largest airport, and Geneva, a major hub for low-cost carrier Easyjet, were forced to shut down Wednesday as staff struggled to clear runways of snow, along with Edinburgh airport in Scotland and Lyon-Bron in southeastern France.
Eurocontrol, the central air control agency, reported severe flight delays in northern Spain, southern Germany and Austria.
In Poland, police said eight men died Tuesday night after a bitter cold front roared in, with temperatures falling to around -20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit). Police spokesman Mariusz Sokolowski said the men, from different parts of the country, had been drinking. The eastern Polish city of Bialystok hit -26 Celsius (-15 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday night.
Winter weather caused some 2,000 accidents on German roads Tuesday, officials said.
Police in northern Austria said a 69-year-old retiree froze to death overnight when he slipped on a snow-covered bridge on his way home from a funeral and lost consciousness.
Officials at Gatwick, south of London, said the airport would remain closed until early Thursday, stranding about 600 flights that were expected to leave Wednesday. Extra staff were working "around the clock" to clear the runways, and passengers were advised to check with their airline or Gatwick's website for updates.
Cars and lorries are driven along the snow covered M25 in Kent, in south-east England on December 1, 2010. Britain's transport links with the rest of the world were disrupted by the early winter snowfall as key airports closed Wednesday and international Eurostar train services were cut. London Gatwick Airport, Europe's eighth busiest passenger air hub, was closed until at least 6:00am (0600 GMT) Thursday as staff worked on clearing the two runways.
Geneva's airport will be closed until at least 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) Wednesday, a spokesman said.
Zurich, Switzerland's biggest airport, reported delays and cancelations on the day many VIPs, including former President Bill Clinton and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, were traveling to FIFA's headquarters to push their countries' bids to host the 2018 and 2022 football World Cups.
Airport spokeswoman Sonja Zoechling said officials anticipate heavy snowfall there Wednesday afternoon but expected to keep flights going. Still, the presence of so many private jets in Zurich meant the airport had to turn down requests Wednesday for diverted landings.
Some 60 flights were canceled at Frankfurt airport, Germany's largest, since planes were not able to fly in Tuesday, but there were no weather delays on Wednesday.
Swiss weather agency Meteosuisse forecast more snow throughout the day as a low-pressure front centered over western Europe moves slowly eastward.
A truck driver waits as trucks are parked on December 1, 2010, in Lempdes-sur-Allagnon, central France, after heavy snow. Heavy snowfall forced more than 7.000 trucks to park over night in central and eastern France as 12 regions banned their use. Restrictions were being lifted as of early morning for some highways. Photo: THIERRY ZOCCOLAN/AFP/Getty Images A truck driver waits as trucks are parked on December 1, 2010, in Lempdes-sur-Allagnon, central France, after heavy snow. Heavy snowfall forced more than 7.000 trucks to park over night in central and eastern France as 12 regions banned their use. Restrictions were being lifted as of early morning for some highways.
"We've got unusually cold cold air over large parts of the eastern Atlantic, and where that meets warm air coming for example from the Mediterranean you have a lot of snow," said meteorologist Heinz Maurer.
He predicted that snowfall would ease in central Europe by Thursday, but nights will remain extremely cold.
La Brevine, in northwestern Switzerland, recorded temperatures of -31 degrees Celsius (-24 Fahrenheit) overnight, Maurer said.
Even the undersea Channel Tunnel was hit with travel delays due to the snow. Six Eurostar trains to and from London were canceled and delays on other services were expected.
In Ireland, flights from Dublin airport were temporarily suspended early Wednesday while thick snow and ice was cleared from a main runway. But with many schools closed and many minor roads impassable due to snow, authorities urged drivers to stay home unless absolutely necessary.
_________________ What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol
The slowing of the gulf stream is not just a BP thing and I am not convinced that it could stop the gulf stream.
Think of it this way.
The Magnetic field of the Earth is reducing, this is because the suns heliosphere is doing the same. Our solar system is heading through a very condensed part of our Galaxcy.
So whats the gulf stream got to do with it, and BP?
Well due to this compression the Geomagnetic Lines are also loosing their grip on the planets surface. This is having the effect of slowing things down. When we slow things down the seasons reduce from four to 2.5. This intern reduces sea displacements through warmer waters. Cold water mooves with the Geomagnetic lines better.
So if they knew that this was coming and the Gulf stream was going to slow, therefore taking the Gulf Loop out because of its slowing. To kick start the system again, you would have to super charge the Gulf, a bit like jump starting the car.In its natural state. The gulf loop is actually a way of cooling the flow before it hits northern europe. Otherwise it would melt the Icesheets way too quickly. The G.O.M. has hot tropical waters, but that is because it is a temperature dumping or regulator.
The BP oil spill would be the best way to do thisusing killer corex to keep the oil there and heat the waters.
Yeah they would kill loads of creatures and run the risk of killing the gulf, having huge hurricans, increase desert zones in land, and displace huge amounts of people, whilst all the time calling for laws on global warming.
I think the world, as complex as it is would not allow one chink in its armour to be able to drop the whole system. This sort of thing would of happen naturally with underground volcanoes, or oil volcnoes. So I think it would always have an effect, but earth desired effect for the time. The difference here is that it was not created by nature.
This reminds me of the Chemtrails. They are spraying poisons into the air to combat global warming. I do not doubt that they also have another use for the Chems. But, the point is, is that it is not the earth doing this. She wants a change of position. SHe is restless the way in which she has been clothed. We should help her change rather than try and keep her where we want. She will only get peeved very quickly.
So the Gulf thing is terrible and shouldn't have been done. But equally, I think there is more to the mechanics than that.If they did that to stop the gulf stream, and it came out? They would not be able to slither their way out of it. This way they can do both ways. Claim eviromental protection in stupidity and if no one notices, then get the global reduction on the other hand without causing alarm. For them a real Win Win situation. That will always be the situation that is presented. Double headed coin I am affraid.
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Last edited by lawlessline on Thu Dec 02, 2010 7:53 am; edited 1 time in total
Andromeda wrote:Someone told me that the weather problems are due to some stargates opening on reversed spin...whatever that means
The inner magnetic field has slowed ready for the flip of the Magnetic poles. This is due pretty much now. As the rest slows their rate of spin these doors will open. This happens naturally every 12500 yrs. Starts in South America and finishes in Tibet. Tibet then closes first and suite till Suth America closes. Head becomes feet and visa versa. Or crown becomes root and roots becaomes Crown. Ooooorrrrr. Rich becomes poor and poor becomes rich.Hmmm,,,,,,,?????????
Cars are stuck as a wheel loader tries to get the snow off the road during a heavy snow storm near Neu Mukran on the island of Ruegen at the Baltic Sea, northern Germany, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010. Large parts of Germany were hit by heavy snowfalls and icy winds.
BERLIN (AP) - Freezing temperatures and often blinding snowfall shuttered airports across Britain on Thursday, delayed flights across Europe and forced thousands of passengers in Germany to spend the night in trains.
In neighboring Poland, the cold claimed 10 more lives, bringing the overall number of deaths to 18, Polish police spokesman Mariusz Sokolowski said. He urged Poles to report any homeless or drunk people on the streets to officers in hopes of saving their lives.
Authorities in Berlin also kept subway stations, soup kitchens and heated buses open all night to provide shelter for the city's homeless.
Gatwick Airport, one of Britain's busiest, was closed for a second straight day, canceling another 600 flights as conditions continued to deteriorate. Edinburgh Airport and London's City Airport were also closed until late evening, according to the Eurocontrol central control agency's website.
The agency also reported significant delays at London Heathrow, Paris' Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam's Schiphol, Berlin's Tegel and Duesseldorf airports.
In Geneva, the airport was able to reopen after removing 2,000 tractor-trailers full of snow from the airfield.
Travelers hoping to fare better by road or rail were equally stymied as snow continued to fall across the U.K. and most of Germany, leaving thousands of motorists stranded overnight in freezing temperatures.
Some 3,000 rail passengers were also stranded overnight and struggled to catch a few minutes' sleep in their trains, German railway operator Deutsche Bahn said.
Some 200 stranded passengers in Germany's Frankfurt hub spent the night in parked night trains after hotels filled up. Nothing was moving along many of the nation's high-speed train links, such as between Nuremberg and Leipzig in the south and east, or between Hamburg and the Danish capital Copenhagen in the north.
Southeastern Denmark was also badly hit, and heavy snow falls and icy winds severely hampered road and rail traffic across much of the country. The Danish army has been mobilized to help emergency vehicles, using tracked armored personnel carriers to help ambulances and other emergency vehicles cut their way through mounds of snow.
Heavy snowfall in Poland also disrupted the normal flow of planes and trains and created a treacherous situation on many of the country's already abysmal roads.
Thousands of Polish homes were left without electricity or heat as temperatures hovered around minus 10 Celsius (14 Fahrenheit). Several Romanian villages suffered a similar fate, while severe ice caused delays to traffic across the nation.
On many German roads, meanwhile, traffic was chaotic with hundreds of minor accidents due to heavy snowfall. Police in Berlin alone counted 121 accidents Thursday morning, spokesman Burkhardt Opitz said.
The heavy winter weather has claimed at least two lives in Germany, a 73-year-old in Lower Saxony who was struck by a train why trying to clear snow and an 18-year-old driver in Baden-Wuerttemberg, who lost control of his vehicle on an icy road and crashing head-on into a truck.
The cold has also taken a solid grip over Sweden, with the lowest temperatures overnight Thursday measuring minus 29.6 Celsius (85.28 Fahrenheit) in Lillhardal in the center of the country. In the Netherlands, a light dusting of snow also led to chaos and long traffic jams on the roads.
In southeastern Europe, meanwhile, Bosnian authorities declared a state of emergency and ordered evacuations after heavy rainfall caused severe flooding on the Drina river.
Schools closed, and half of the town has no electricity, city water is no longer drinkable. In nearby Gorazde, the federal army had to help evacuating people.
I do not know why , but i have a weird feeling about that fire in Israel. it never happened before there...and I do not remember when they last asked for any assistance. Another even in the series of distractiona perhaps...
Eye of the storm: The jaw-dropping image of an enormous 'supercell' cloud
It looks like something from the film Independence Day.
But although it may seem like an alien mothership, this incredible picture is actually an impressive thunderstorm cloud known as a supercell.
Windswept dust and rain dominate the storm's centre while rings of jagged clouds surround the edge.
A flimsy tree in the foreground looks like a toy next to the magnificent natural phenomenon.
'I' normally rely on simply being in the right place at the right time for my photography, while I'm out working. But in July I finally decided to do it and thankfully this picture was the result. We don't usually get weather like this out in Montana, it felt like the perfect storm.
_________________ What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol
A woman struggles with her child's pram in a snow storm as she tries to enter a tram in temperatures of -10deg in Berlin on Thursday. According to meteorologists, the freezing cold will continue in the coming days
London's Gatwick airport reopened on Friday, but others including London Heathrow and Glasgow warned of more cancellations and delays Published Friday, December 03, 2010
At least 60 people have died across Europe during the current cold snap, as snow plagued transport in Britain on Friday and serious flooding prompted mass evacuations in the Balkans.
Seventeen people died in Central Europe in the last 24 hours from the cold, bringing the total this week to 45. A further 11 died in Russia, plus three in France and one in Germany, according to local authorities.
At least 30 people, mainly homeless men, have died in Poland in the past week, and temperatures dropped to minus 15 degrees Celsius (five degrees Fahrenheit) overnight.
Temperatures plunged to minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus four Fahrenheit) in Braemar, Scotland, while Britain struggled to get back to its feet after days of transport chaos.
London's Gatwick airport reopened on Friday after a two-day shutdown due to snow, but others including London Heathrow and Glasgow warned of more cancellations and delays.
Many trains were cancelled due to snow and travel by road was slow going, and around 2,000 schools remained closed.
Despite Gatwick finally clearing the runways, freezing fog meant flights would be limited and "delays and cancellations inevitable", Europe's eighth-busiest passenger airport said.
"It is likely to take a few days before flight schedules return to normal."
Eurostar, which operates high-speed passenger trains linking London with Paris and Brussels, said it was running a revised timetable, with 17 services cancelled. It warned of delays through the weekend.
Britain's Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has ordered a review of how transport operators have coped with the cold snap.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said there were "no major concerns" over supplies of food, petrol, diesel or gas despite the continued freezing conditions, despite warnings of shortages in some newspapers.
_________________ What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. With deepest respect ~ Aloha & Mahalo, Carol
Thank you for the photos...it brings back memories of visiting Berlin (in Winter) for me...I had the same difficulty with a pram (stroller) in the snow there. I grew up in snow country in the US, but the cold in Berlin was something else. It made me stop judging the people who wore their old fur coats...it's a matter of survival with the winds coming down from Siberia. Aw, I'm shivering just remembering it.
even I still have an old fur coat,because it`s warm especially when the east wind blows. And with all this heavy snow falls early in november.I believe it`s conected with the slow down of the gulf loop. I hope never the less the winter will not be to heavy. All the best Sabina
Very abnormal winter in my neck of the woods, petrol stations are running out of fuel and shelves will remain empty of first necessities for few days as shopkeepers struggle to get supplies in
Yesterday the weather station in Hastings said that it was -9C wih windchill -17C...then the winds came....and two feet of snow vanished into thin air, unbelievable! only very thin ice on the streets but still unsafe
No post, no rubbish collection...no trains...interesting eh? One will think that after the episode last winter they will be prepared but no, its all about cutting corners
Oceans failing the acid test, U.N. says By Matthew Knight for CNN December 2, 2010
(CNN) -- The chemistry of the world's oceans is changing at a rate not seen for 65 million years, with far-reaching implications for marine biodiversity and food security, according to a new United Nations study released Thursday.
"Environmental Consequences of Ocean Acidification," published by the U.N. Environmental Program (UNEP)," warns that some sea organisms including coral and shellfish will find it increasingly difficult to survive, as acidification shrinks the minerals needed to form their skeletons.
Lead author of the report Carol Turley, from the UK's Plymouth Marine Laboratory said in a statement: "We are seeing an overall negative impact from ocean acidification directly on organisms and on some key ecosystems that help provide food for billions. We need to start thinking about the risk to food security."
Tropical reefs provide shelter and food for around a quarter of all known marine fish species, according to the U.N. report, while over one billion people rely on fish as a key source of protein. Ocean acidification is yet another red flag being raised, carrying planetary health warnings about the uncontrolled growth in greenhouse gas emissions
Increasing acidification is likely to affect the growth and structural integrity of coral reef, the study says, and coupled with ocean warming could limit the habitats of crabs, mussels and other shellfish with knock-on effects up and down the food chain.
The report, unveiled during the latest round of U.N. climate talks in Cancun, Mexico, says that around a quarter of the world's CO2 emissions are currently being absorbed by the oceans, where they are turned into carbonic acid.
Overall, pH levels in seas and oceans worldwide have fallen by an average of 30 percent since the Industrial Revolution. The report predicts that by the end of this century ocean acidity will have increased 150 percent, if emissions continue to rise at the current rate.
But scientists say there may well be winners and losers as acidification doesn't affect all sea creatures in the same way.
Adult lobsters, for example, may increase their shell-building as pH levels fall, as might brittle stars -- a close relation of the starfish -- but at the cost of muscle formation.
"The ability, or inability, to build calcium-based skeletons may not be the only impact of acidification on the health and viability of an organism: brittle stars perhaps being a case in point," Turley said in a statement.
"It is clearly not enough to look at a species. Scientists will need to study all parts of the life-cycle to see whether certain forms are more or less vulnerable."
Scientists are more certain about the fate of photosynthetic organisms such as seagrasses, saying they are likely to benefit from rising acidification and that some creatures will simply adapt to the changing chemistry of the oceans.
The authors identify a range of measures which policymakers need to consider to stop pH levels falling further, including "rapid and substantial cuts" to CO2 emissions as well as assessing the vulnerability of communities which rely on marine resources.
"Ocean acidification is yet another red flag being raised, carrying planetary health warnings about the uncontrolled growth in greenhouse gas emissions. It is a new and emerging piece in the scientific jigsaw puzzle, but one that is triggering rising concern," Achim Steiner, UNEP executive director, said in a statement.
