Bring up the subject of climate change, and the first point of discussion will usually involve warming climate and sea level rise.
However, an overlooked chapter of climate change involves ocean acidification, which will be the subject of a screening of the NOVA special, “Acid Ocean,” the next installment of the Sea Change environmental film series at WHAT’s Julie Harris Stage this Saturday at 7 p.m.
The documentary details how oceans are absorbing more atmospheric carbon and become more acidic, threatening the skeletons and shells of countless marine creatures that make up ocean food chains. The film follows scientists working on ways to mitigate the impact of ocean acidification, including a look at a special coral garden in Papua, New Guinea.
After the film screening, Dr. Heather Goldstone, WCAI’s science editor, will moderate a discussion about how ocean acidification is impacting the Cape’s marine resources.
The panel includes Carolina Bastidas, a visiting research associate at MIT Sea Grant, and Dan McCorkle of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who also appears in the documentary.