Researchers Find ‘Acid Zone’ in Chesapeake Bay

[rangerrebew]

Researchers Find ‘Acid Zone’ in Chesapeake Bay
Aug 28, 2017 by News Staff / Source
 

A team of researchers led by University of Delaware Professor Wei-Jun Cai has discovered a ‘pH minimum zone’ that occurs at a depth of 30-50 feet (10-15 m) in the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States.

http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/geoscience/acid-zone-chesapeake-bay-05171.html

[Smokin Joe]

Interesting article.

Before anyone panics, however:

The pH in the Chesapeake Bay’s ‘acid zone’ is roughly 7.4, nearly 10 times higher in acidity (or a unit lower in pH) than what is found in surface waters, which have an average pH of 8.2.

A pH of 7.0 is neutral. Higher than 7.0 is increasingly basic (alkaline), Lower than 7.0 is increasingly acidic.

While the Bay's pH may be lower than other surface waters (and the water sampled at this pH was at 30-50 feet), it is still on the alkaline side of the spectrum.