We’ve been told repeatedly by the media that because of increased CO2 the oceans are becoming more acidic. This made-up story is also scientifically impossible. Carbon dioxide reacts with water to form carbonic acid, a weak acid [H2CO3]. When CO2 is released from the ocean into the atmosphere, there’s less, not more, carbon dioxide - and carbonic acid - in the water. So when ocean water warms, releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, it becomes less — not more — acidic.
