Research Paper On Ocean Acidification

Ocean acidification is a term that describes significant changes to the chemistry of the ocean. It happens when carbon dioxide gas is absorbed by the ocean and reacts with seawater to produce acid. This mechanism is happening in the ocean that over time will affect the coral species.

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.

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,

The first organisms that ocean acidification affects are calcifying creatures. These include creatures like oysters, calcareous plankton, clams, sea urchins, and coral. The ocean normally has enough carbonate ions dissolved for calcifying creatures to use to create their shells. Ocean acidification negatively affects the ability for these organisms to build their shells. As carbon dioxide dissolves into the ocean it reacts with the water to form carbonic acid (What is Ocean, 2015). Also, as more carbon dioxide dissolves into the ocean, it reacts with seawater to make H+ ions. These H+ ions compete with calcifying creatures for the carbonate ions. The H+ ions often win making it much more difficult for these shelled creatures to make their shells (Cripps et al., 2014). Creatures like conch shells, oysters, and clams are the most negatively affected. But not all creatures are immediately affected. Some organisms such as crabs and lobsters and crabs actually grow heavier shells to combat the effects of changing pH. This adaptation

The main effect of climate change on our oceans, apart from temperature increases, is acidification—that is, an increase in the acidity of the water (or a decrease in its pH). And the cause of this increase in acidity is the same CO2

Ocean acidification is the decrease in the acidity levels of the Earth 's oceans, caused by the intake of carbon dioxide emitted in to the environment and atmosphere. Since the industrial revolution, fossil fuel-powered machines have increased human technology and advancement. However, this has caused the emissions, large amounts of carbon dioxide, deforestation, and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Ocean acidification, in turn, has created a benefit to us by slowing down climate change by absorbing the emissions in the water that have remained in the air. However, studies are now starting to show that the massive amounts of carbon dioxide in the water bodies are altering the water chemistry and affecting the biodiversity and life cycles of many marine organisms, especially those at the lower end of the food chain. Other organisms living off the food chain would be part of a symbiotic relationship involving nutrient cycling: where all other organisms are feeding off of the larger one, yet are providing some benefit to the overall host.

Ocean acidification has numerous causes, but there are even more effects than there are causes. The many effects have an impact on not only marine animals but humans too. Some of these effects include issues associated with coral reefs, organisms under the sea, and human businesses. This problem that seems to be a simple issue is an important source of loss of sea creatures and income. This is the main reason that we need to control ocean acidification.The effects of ocean acidification both above and below the ocean’s surface are detrimental to the environment.

obal Warming is caused by the built up of carbon dioxide and other air pollutions. These absorb sunlight and solar radiation, trapping the heat which causes global temperatures to rise. Ocean Acidification is caused when the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from the air causing it to be acidic. Scientist believe that the ocean has absorbed about half of the excess carbon dioxide in the past 200 years. This has caused a drop of 0.1 in ph. Since the pH scale is logarithmic, this change represents a thirty percent increase in acidity.

Ocean acidification is caused when the CO₂ from the air enters into the ocean and bonds with sea water creating a toxic acid called carbonic acid. Carbonic acid reduces the natural pH levels of the water which as a result has been increasing the ocean acidity by 30%. This reduces the calcium concentration in the water, making it hard for crustaceans like crabs and prawns to build their shell. This means that they are more vulnerable to predators, and we can all figure out what happens when an entire species is vulnerable to predators. Air pollution is not the only factor that causes the water to become polluted. In fact, there are many more including fertilizer that gets washed into the oceans and also oils spills. According to the Water Project, 783 million people worldwide do not have access to clean and safe water, and according to the Worldwatch Institute, approximately 450 million kilograms of pesticides U.S. farmers use every year have now contaminated almost all of the United States' streams and rivers, and the fish living in them.

Ocean acidification is a phenomenon whereby progressively less alkaline the ocean, the surface waters of the oceans is currently slightly alkaline where the average degree of concentration of hydrogen ions nearly 8.1. And haven't experienced marine acidification rate like this for several million years. ocean acidification due to increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissolves in the oceans. And this process largely independent of climate, despite the high temperature of the sea

For many years people have thought that ocean acidification is really not that serious of an issue to our climate. They have claimed that releasing CO2 into the atmosphere is harmless and cannot acidify the ocean. However, scientists have refuted this claim and state that ocean acidification threatens the entire marine ecosystem.

Even though ocean acidification doesn’t get quite as much attention as some things like rising sea levels, or global warming, ocean acidification is still 1 of the most serious effects of greenhouse gas emissions. Nearly a third of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, or about 22 million tons of CO2, is absorbed by the ocean every day. Scientists say this pollution has fundamentally changed ocean chemistry. Ocean acidification, a consequence of rising anthropogenic CO2 emissions, is poised to change marine ecosystems profoundly by increasing dissolved CO2 and decreasing ocean pH, carbonate ion concentration, and calcium carbonate mineral saturation state worldwide. These conditions hinder growth of calcium carbonate shells and skeletons by

The article of “ocean acidification” has been written by Elizabeth Kolbert for the magazine of National Geographic. In this magazine article, the author has expressed grave concerns regarding the increasing problem of acidification of oceans. The author is of the view that the issue of ocean acidification should be taken very seriously as this problem is irreversible and, if it occurs, it cannot be controlled.

Ocean acidification is the process through which acid is formed due to the burning of fossil fuels in modern industrial society and combined with ocean water. There are unwanted gas like carbon dioxide which are now a days increasing due to human activities emission in to the environment and much of the carbon dioxide is absorbed by the oceans and the combination of carbon dioxide emitted when combined with the ocean water, carbonic acid is formed and this will dissociate to form bicarbonate ions and hydrogen ions reducing the PH of the ocean or changing the ocean water in to acid and this process is called ocean acidification.

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.