Research led by the University of Colorado Boulder found that the drop in greenhouse gas emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t influenced the ocean’s acidity levels like it was hoped.

These findings were presented Friday at the American Geophysical Union 2020 Fall Meeting by CU associate professor Nicole Lovenduski.

Lovenduski said, though factors like less car and air travel have resulted in a 9% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, the reduction hasn’t caused any detectable slowing of ocean acidification.

In fact, even if emissions dropped at four times the rate they have in 2020, it still would have a barely noticeable effect on ocean acidity.

“It’s almost impossible to see it in pH,” Lovenduski said. “So has this solved ocean acidification? No, it has not.”

The ocean absorbs a lot of the carbon dioxide humans emit into the atmosphere which heats the ocean, leading to water expansion and rising sea levels. The carbon also causes ocean acidification, harming coral reefs and ocean life.

Part of the reason the emissions drop hasn’t helped is that researchers view the decrease as a short-term, one-time change, not the long-term change needed to fight the acidification.

“This reduction in emissions is what it will take every single year to get us back to something that’s a healthy version of our climate,” Lovenduski said. 

CU Boulder study says emissions aren’t growing as fast as worst-case predictions

But all hope is not lost. Lovenduski said her analysis showed the ocean will absorb slightly less carbon from the atmosphere in 2021 due to 2020’s emissions reductions.

Her research has also provided insight on how to track changes in ocean carbon and how much action it will take to stop the impacts of climate change.

“This sudden precipitous drop in emissions is a big deal,” Lovenduski said. “It can offer insight into what might happen if we actually follow a plan like the Paris Climate Agreement.”

Lovenduski’s research will be submitted to the journal Geophysical Research Letters for publication.