Causes And Consequences Of Marine Organisms

Over the years Carbon Dioxide has been significantly increasing from human activity. CO2 has a concentration of about 400 ppmv (parts per million volume). Its concentration in the atmosphere was about 280 ppmv before the Industrial Revolution, now it has increased immensely to about 380 ppmv in 2006. Many have said Carbon Dioxide has been the main reason or cause of global warming; saying that if we produce too much of this greenhouse gas it can create a global climate change. Even though carbon dioxide affects the temperature of the atmosphere it also affects the acidity of water specifically in the ocean.

The ocean is a very delicate ecosystem in which the slightest change of pH or chemical composition will result in devastating results. Between 25 and 40% of anthropogenic carbon emissions have entered the marine area since the industrial age (Sabine et

Ocean Acidification is a process that occurs everyday and majorly affects our planet, but most people don’t even realize it exists. Though it can technically be argued that Ocean Acidification has some benefits for the planet, most of the time the effects of this process are very poor and negatively affect the entire world around us. Human evolution has played a major role in contributing to Ocean Acidification. Whenever humans use energy we release Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere or also known as CO2. This can be in the form of burning fossil fuels from the ground or the removal of national forest by burning. CO2 is a greenhouse gas, which means whenever we can emit it in large quantities or unnatural amounts it can have negative effects on the atmosphere. These high levels of CO2 in the atmosphere result in climate change and more specifically Ocean Acidification. Ocean Acidification occurs when excess Carbon Dioxide is absorbed into the ocean. When this process takes place it can completely disturb the chemical balances of the water. For example, it can reduce pH levels, Biodiversity, and the abundance of calcifying species.

Humans are changing the climate right now through deforestation and burning fossil fuels which is also creating ocean acidification. Kolbert writes in The Sixth Extinction that, humans are burning an excessive amount of fossil fuels through coal and natural gas into the air which added tons of carbon into the atmosphere. “SINCE the start of the industrial revolution, humans have burned through enough fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—to add some 365 billion metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere” (Kolbert, p. 113). It is possible to say that through these burning fossil fuels, ocean acidification are occurring, too, because too much carbon dioxide is being released into the atmosphere and the ocean is absorbing the air into the ocean. Kolbert writes, “Thanks to all this extra CO2, the pH of the ocean’s surface waters has already dropped. Assuming that humans continue to burn fossil fuels, the oceans will continue to absorb carbon dioxide and will become increasingly acidified” (Kolbert, p. 113-114). In addition, our emissions of CO2 modify our atmosphere. Whereas, the gases from the atmosphere get absorbed by the ocean and gases dissolved in the ocean are released into the atmosphere killing most of our species. For example, many mollusks, corals, and single-celled creatures called foraminifera use ingredients in seawater to build their shells and other hard parts and these

I would have to agree with the writers of this article in so many ways. The writer says that the ocean has absorbed tons of carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere causing ocean acidification. The declining of plankton is causing marine

To begin, Our Oceans absorb tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide. According to Castro of Marine Biology (2013), “About half the CO2 we pump into the atmosphere dissolves into the ocean” (p.236). With these statistics in mind it is important to notice that everyday large amounts of Carbon dioxide head into our oceans. As the carbon dioxide is consumed by ocean water, “CO2 dissolves in seawater and it forms carbonic acid” (Marine Biology pg.236). As carbonic acid is added into the

Ocean acidification can be defined as the continuous decrease of the pH of Earth’s oceans. This process occurs as a result of the rise in carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. Due to the rapid industrialization of various countries on Earth, humans have become more accessible to energy by utilizing non-renewable resources that are derived from carbon in the ground.

In current times, as we consider ways to inhibit CO2 emissions, we look towards the Earth’s natural carbon sinks as possible solutions. Carbon sinks an environment that can hold onto carbon chemicals for an indefinite time with the act of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere defined as carbon sequestration. The Oceans are one of them. However, when the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide elevates in a short period of time, this can lead to Ocean Acidification, the phenomena where the dissolution of excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere leads to the lowering of ocean pH (Greene, et al., 2012).

Over the last decade, there has been much focus in the ocean science community on studying the potential impacts of ocean acidification (OA). Ocean acidification describes a change in the ocean’s carbon chemistry which is an emerging global problem. Oceans cover nearly 70 percent of the planet’s surface and play a crucial role in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide through the interaction of physical, chemical, and biological processes (Orr, Fabry, Aumont, Bopp, Doney, Feely, ... & Key, 2005). As a result of anthropogenic emissions from fossil fuels, cement manufacturing, changes in land use and other human activities, carbon dioxide levels have built up in the atmosphere (Orr et al., 2005). Excess levels of CO2 then dissolve

Looking at the research from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), I have discovered that about 25% of excess carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere, has been absorbed into our oceans, due to the increase of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels to power our daily needs, such as; our homes, heating and transportation. When this excess carbon dioxide is absorbed by seawater it forms carbonic acid, which results into an increase of hydrogen ions.

Even though the ocean acidification term is new, its concept has been recognized for several decades. The oceans

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that we exhale in our daily lives. Plants use carbon dioxide to create oxygen that all mammals use. However, carbon dioxide can also change the chemistry of the ocean, this is often referred to as ocean acidification. The excess carbon dissolves into oxygen in the water, producing a chemical called carbonic acid. This acid causes the ocean to become more acidic. In the eighteenth century, the pH was 8.07 which was slightly basic. Currently, the pH is around 8.01 this is about a twenty-five percent increase in acidity. (National geographic) While this slight change may not seem outrageous, it is causing multiple marine life struggles. The acid melts the shells of pteropods causing a low supply of food that would support larger fish.

The main factors in this climate change are observed to be the increase in temperatures and the resulting acidification of the oceans. The previously mentioned changes and others in the report are readily observable, such as the uptake of anthropogenic carbon since 1750 that has led to the ocean becoming more acidic, with an average decrease in pH of 0.1 units and in some instances blatantly obvious, even to the average layperson. It is difficult to conclude what the rate of change in the future will be and the effects of observed ocean acidification on the marine biosphere.

CO2 ocean acidification has become a big problem. This problem started increasing around the industrial revolution. Since the industrial revolution the ocean has become more acidic by 30%. Industrial and agricultural activities have released more and more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Studies show that a quarter of all carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is absorbed into the ocean. As the CO2 levels rise in the atmosphere, the CO2 levels also rise in the ocean. The CO2 that is absorbed into the ocean changes the chemistry of the ocean making the water more acidic. This process is called ocean acidification. [1]

The world’s oceans are currently under threat from several human impacts. On local scales, overfishing, deforestation and pollution from land can negatively affect marine ecosystems. On larger scales, global change and associated alterations in ocean circulation, increases in temperature and increases in storm intensity and frequency are all known to impact ocean life. One of the newest and perhaps most significant threats to marine ecosystems is Ocean Acidification (OA). OA refers to the continual rise in acidic