New X Prize Quest: Sensors To Probe Oceanic Acid Levels – Slashdot.

Oceanic acidity not only affects oxygen/carbon levels, it determines whether regions of the ocean can be carbon-sinks and bind carbon into calcite structures such as coral. When we see anoxic regions of the ocean like off the coast of Oregon, that spells big trouble: in those regions there is not sufficient life to metabolize carbon dioxide and change its form into something solid.