American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
What may be the broadest and longest study to date has found Canada's Arctic Ocean is growing more acidic up to four times faster than any other sea on the planet.
The acidification, linked to the loss of sea ice, will have unknown repercussions for the life in those waters, said Wei-Jun Cai, an oceanographer at the University of Delaware and co-author of the study in the journal Science.
"There will be a whole suite of impacts," he said. "Biologists will have to do more work."
Increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are turning all oceans more acidic, as carbon is dissolved into seawater and forms carbonic acid.
Scientists have known for some time that the Arctic Ocean is more susceptible than most. Last year's Arctic Report Card from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration concluded acidification is already high enough in some places to dissolve shells of sea snails.
Cai's study uses data on surface water from 47 different research cruises from 1994 to 2020 -- some from the Chinese research icebreaker the Xue Long -- to give the most definitive picture of the changes in the Canada Basin, a vast stretch of ocean covering the entire western Arctic.
It found almost a million square kilometres of ocean had grown more acidic, including more northern waters where the effect hadn't been seen before.
The study also found the entire basin was acidifying at a rate at least three and up to four times faster than any other ocean -- a speed much faster than that predicted by global emissions models.
"We were really shocked," said Cai. "We were quite surprised."
So were his colleagues. Cai said it took two years to get the paper published because peer review juries had to be absolutely convinced of how its disturbing conclusions were reached.
In the end, said Cai, it comes down to sea ice loss.
Historically, Arctic waters have been lower in carbon dioxide because as recently as the 1990s they were covered with sea ice most, if not all, of the year. That's no longer true.
"Initially, there was no atmospheric contact," Cai said. "Now you have atmospheric contact."
In effect, Arctic waters are playing catch-up with the other oceans, where the carbon dioxide content is growing at the same pace it is in the air.
As well, the volume of that ice melt is creating a layer of relatively fresh water atop the Canada Basin. Because that water isn't as dense as saltier water, it tends to float on the surface and concentrate the acidity.
Finally, that fresher water also tends to counteract ions that lend alkalinity, emphasizing acidification.
The consequences of that profound change to the Arctic ecosystem are just beginning to be studied, said Cai. Acidity makes it hard for animals to form shells, but that's just the start, he said.
For example, Cai said there's evidence to suggest that more acidic water makes toxins such as heavy metals more likely to be absorbed by plants and animals.
More research is needed to discover what effects the rapid changes are having on the Arctic ecosystem, which has one of the most productive fisheries in the world, he said. As well, more study is required just to keep on top of the changes, Cai said.
Cai and his colleagues conclude that ice melt is likely to drive faster-than-average acidification in the Arctic for at least the next couple of decades. The consequences are unknown, says the paper.
"This greatly amplified summertime ocean acidification, modulated by large-scale climate change, may lead to long-lasting impacts on the biogeochemistry, ecosystem, and organisms in the Arctic Ocean basins."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2022.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
Short-term rental platforms that violate B.C.'s pending regulations can face administrative penalties of up to $10,000 per day, officials announced Thursday.
A Google Drive link allegedly containing 17 tracks that are purportedly from Swift's eagerly awaited "The Tortured Poets Department" album has been making the rounds on the internet in the past day and people are equal parts mad, sad and happy about it.
A motion to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh within Queen’s Park failed to receive unanimous consent Thursday just moments after Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his view that prohibiting the garment in the House is divisive.
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.