Our Blue Backyard

January 2025

Bicarbonate is like the ocean’s natural buffer system, helping to keep acidity lower. Bicarbonate forms when carbon dioxide dissolves in salt water and reacts with water molecules. Bicarbonate helps to increase pH levels, preventing seawater from becoming too acidic which would threaten the health of marine life.

For shell-building organisms like clams and oysters, bicarbonate is especially critical. It provides the material they need to form calcium carbonate, which is what their shells are made of. Healthy bicarbonate levels in the water mean these organisms can grow strong shells and survive.

By protecting and restoring ecosystems like seagrass, which store bicarbonate we can help keep the ocean healthy. This is some of the work that Tessa Hill and other researchers are doing at UC Davis. Here’s a link to her lab page: http://www.oceanclimatelab.com