Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience

Most people have never heard of ocean acidification—the process by which the ocean becomes more acidic as it absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2) that has been emitted into the atmosphere. Visualizing the impact to marine life is challenging. As a solution, Stanford researchers have produced a virtual underwater experience to allow you to observe firsthand what reefs are expected to look like by the end of the century if we do not curb our CO2 emissions.

With funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford researchers have designed an educational experience that makes the impossible possible: watch the ocean absorb invisible CO2 molecules, a rocky reef degrade and marine life disappear as the ocean acidifies. Each step in the journey is based on marine science research.

This experience has been downloaded on PC-based platforms in over half of the countries in the world. It has been showcased at hundreds of events, everywhere from the Superbowl to the US Senate. Scholars have studied it thoroughly, typically demonstrating the experience increases learning about marine science and motives people to care about the ocean, for example:

http://vhil.stanford.edu/publications/environmental-behavior/immersive-virtual-reality-field-trips-facilitate-learning-about