Acidity

Since primary school we've been checking for the qualities known as acidity and alkalinity with litmus paper.

An epigram is a short, sharp saying in prose or verse, frequently characterized by acidity or acerbity and sometimes by wisdom.

Oceans are currently absorbing more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere annually by human activities, increasing their acidity.

The critical control points for cranberry sauce include the washing area where berries are first received, filtration and metal detection points where any foreign materials are removed, a heat treatment pasteurization area, and acidity checks, among others.

The wine's acidity impressed Adriano.

The wine's acidity complemented the meal for Adriano.

The wine's acidity cut through the richness of the meal for Adriano.

Already endangered by overfishing and disease, the authors of a new study say oysters are becoming smaller and less robust as greenhouse gases alter the acidity of water in estuaries and ecosystems where they live.

Scientists wanted to see how these developing larvae were being affected by the increased acidity of the ocean water caused by excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Whitman Miller — an environmental scientist and ecologist with the Smithsonian research center — says oceans normally absorb about half of the carbon dioxide that's produced by living creatures. But when excess CO₂ is pumped into the atmosphere and dissolves into seawater, that contributes to an acidification, or a lowering of the pH of the oceans. A byproduct of that process — carbonic acid — rapidly converts to carbonate and bicarbonate ions, which Miller says are corrosive to the calcium carbonate shells of oysters and other marine species.

Researchers cultured Eastern and Suminoe oysters in water that was held to four separate CO₂ concentrations, reflecting atmospheric conditions during pre-industrial times, acidity levels today and those predicted for 50 and 100 years from now.