Human Impacts on the Environment

Currently there is no saturation level above four in the world. If current trends continue, by 2060, there will be no location above 3.5 and by 2100, no place above 3. The negative trends are extremely concerning as the changing water levels are making the reefs’ survival more unlikely. The energy required for calcification increase, and thus calcification rates decrease. Because of the lack of growth, coral diversity plunges. Over half a million species have spent their life on coral reefs. Coral reefs are intricate exchange bazaars that pass nutrients to various animals. Without the reefs, this exchange would not be possible and the abating of the reefs contributes to the disappearance of the ecosystem as a whole. While ocean acidification is not the only reason for the withering reefs, it is the most detrimental. The effect of ocean acidification extends beyond just the coral reefs. This process affects marine animals’ tightly regulated internal chemistry such as metabolism, enzyme activity, and protein function. Ocean acidification alters the presence of key nutrients such as iron and nitrogen essential to animals. It will also make the ocean noisier (Kolbert 136-141). The implications of ocean acidification are interminable. Human realization is imperative to slow the rate at which ocean saturation is declining. The less carbon emissions released in the air, the less carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean which will inadvertently prove beneficial to the coral reefs, but also many other species dependent on the

To begin, Ocean Acidification is a complex issue that revolves around the pH level of the water in the oceans. According to Ocean Acidification by Gattuso and Lina “Ocean Acidification is a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period, typically decades or longer, caused primarily by the uptake of CO 2 from the atmosphere” Scientists use the pH scale to describe the strength of acids and bases. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14 with 0 being the most acidic and 14 the most basic. Gattuso and Lina address that, “Once dissolved in seawater, CO 2 is a weak acid which generates a number of changes in seawater chemistry.” Furthermore they state,“The ocean pH levels has decreased from approximately 8.2 to 8.1 between pre-industrial time and the 1990s, and may reach 7.8 in 2100.” The issue of Ocean Acidification is dependent on the pH levels of the oceans. The belief is lowered pH levels could cause disastrous effects to the millions of different types of sea life in the oceans. Scientists believe that a difference in pH levels could devastate the ecology of the oceans. For example, it is stated by Gattuso & Lina that, “Changes in the carbonate chemistry of seawater can have a wide range of effects, some of which may be mediated through disturbances in the acid–base status of affected organisms.” As a result, “The extracellular pH of body fluids in animals and the intracellular pH of various organisms are usually tightly regulated, but the capacity of regulatory

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

G., Cong-Qiang, L., WeiDong, Z., Minella, M., Vione, D., Kunshan, G., & ... Hiroshi, S. (2016). Reviews and Syntheses: Ocean acidification and its potential impacts on marine ecosystems. Biogeosciences, 13(6), 1767. doi:10.5194/bg-13-1767-2016

The purpose of this study was to understand and based on results to support the predictable negative effects of ocean acidification on phytoplankton and projected pH values. However, changes in ocean pH did not negatively impact the productivity of phytoplankton according to the log response ratios, which compared the growth rates at projected years (2000, 2100,

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, mankind has slowly increased the total greenhouse gas emissions that enter the atmosphere. Over time, this pollution began to add up. Now planet Earth is struggling to maintain its health with the combined forces of global warming and ocean acidification looking to bring demise. From all portions of the world, troubling changes are emerging in the chemistry of our oceans’ waters. The oceans takes in around a quarter of the Carbon Dioxide that mankind releases into the atmosphere every year, so as atmospheric Carbon Dioxide levels rise, so do the

About half of that man-made CO2 has been absorbed by the oceans, increasing the concentration of carbonic acid, which has caused the oceans to become more acidic. Over the past 300 million years, ocean pH has averaged about 8.2. Today, it is around 8.1, a 25% increase in acidity over the past two centuries. That increase is projected to reach 150% by the end of this century, a rate of change not seen in 65 million years. A more acidic ocean inhibits shell growth in marine animals such as corals, crustaceans and mollusks, and disrupts entire food chains all the

Due to large scale absorption of man-made carbon emissions, we have seen a significant increase in oceanic acidification. (Boyd, Spinrad 2015) Acidification

According to Ocean Portal, “in the past 200 years alone, ocean water has become 30 percent more acidic”. The rapid growth of acidity within the oceans is dramatically impacting ecosystems- even the shells of animals are disintegrating in the acid contaminated seawater.

A burden which lays on the shoulders of today’s man is that of climate change, namely, global warming. However, this evil has many ignored byproducts, some which are equally detrimental. In this thesis, we will write about the effects of one of the greatest of this, ocean acidification, known as “global warming’s equally evil twin”.

This report is focused on Ocean acidification and it’s lowering of seawater PH levels that results from a continuing in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. There are potentially adverse biological and ecological consequences occurring now and in the future results of this process.

3) Due to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the world's oceans are 30% more acidic now than before the industrial revolution. Cold oceans, like those in the Arctic, are acidifying twice as fast as average impacting coral reefs, shellfish and plankton to name a few.

The world we live in is so vast and exciting. Seventy percent of our world is liquid water we call the ocean. In the ocean there are many creatures that each are unique in their own way. However, it is possible that in our lifetime, many marine organisms will become endangered or possibly extinct. The loss of these mejestic marine creatures will be caused mainly because of human advancements in which fossil fuels are used to produce energy. Biodiversity is greatly affected by this increase in acidity. As the ocean acidifies, multiple social and economic issues arise. As humans, we rely on the ocean for almost everything. Much of our food, clothing, cleaning products and cosmetics come from the ocean. With the loss of

Ocean acidification is the process of the ocean becoming more acidic, or dropping on the pH scale. Another name for this process is ocean de-basification because seawater is actually a basic substance, so the “acidification” is seawater dropping to a more neutral pH. Despite what you call it, it is agreed that this activity results in negative consequences for both our environment as well as the creatures in it. This paper will be looking at the causes of ocean acidification, the effects of it, and what society can do in an attempt to stop it.

Ocean acidification is one of the most serious environmental problem all over the world. In 1985, average pH of oceans was 8.2, and it dropped to 8.1 for 10 years (Environmental Visualization Laboratory). This small decrease may not seem significant, but pH scale is logarithmic, so 0.1 change means about 30% increase in acidity (Hardit, 2010). It could affect on many marine species. Ocean acidification is caused by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and hydrogen ions produced by greenhouse gases’ reaction with water (Logan, 2010). CO2 is absorbed by the surface of ocean from atmosphere, and it generates carbonic acid (H2CO3) by reacting with water molecules. Carbonic acid break down into bicarbonate (HCO3-), carbonate (CO32-), and hydrogen ions (H+). The more hydrogen ions, the lower pH and more acidic solution. This acidification impact marine organisms, especially organisms consisted by calcium