The Effects of Increased Atmospheric CO2

The rising carbon dioxide (CO2) from the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities continues to affect our atmosphere, resulting in global warming and climate change. This carbon dioxide is also altering the chemistry of the oceans, causing them to become more acidic. From scientists and marine resource managers, to policy and decision-makers, there is growing concern that the process called ocean acidification could have drastic consequences on marine ecosystems. Such as altering species composition, disrupting marine food webs and ecosystems and harming fishing, tourism and other human activities connected to the sea.

“Since the beginning of the industrial era, the ocean has absorbed some 525 billion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere, presently around 22 million tons per day” (Ocean Portal, n.d). This number is expected to increase forevermore as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels increase and the effects of Climate Change worsen. At first, the idea of our oceans absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere may sound great, however, scientists have been quick to learn otherwise. High concentrations of carbon dioxide in oceans can have detrimental effects on the ocean chemistry and marine ecosystems (Hardt; Safina, 2008). Marine ecosystems are greatly complex and depend on every marine organism to function properly, any change can put the whole ecosystem at risk. For example, the increase of carbon dioxide in our oceans is responsible for the dissolving of “brittle star” skeletal parts, which has in effect caused food scarcity for many fish, crabs, shrimp, and other starfish (Leu, 2013). Furthermore, these marine ecosystems are very important to humans- being the primary food source for millions around the world and having an economic market worth trillions of dollars (Hardt; Safina, 2008). Part of keeping these ecosystems safe is to understand how they work and how projected changes can harm 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.

Not all phytoplankton taxa are expected to respond the same to ocean acidification. Some taxa respond negatively to ocean acidification. The coupling of atmospheric CO2 with ocean carbonate affects carbonate secreting and calcifying marine organisms (Hannisdal 2012). The haptophyta and myzozoa

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

The map above shows a depiction of aragonite saturation, a form of calcium carbonate that many marine species also rely on to build their protective shells. It is anticipated that a high volume of species relying on carbonate ions to form outer layers and exoskeletons will be negatively affected by the changing chemistry of seawater. Even a slight drop in pH levels will mean higher concentrations of hydrogen ions will be available to bond with carbonate ions, forming more bicarbonate than normal. Marine calcifying species are this put at a higher risk for predation. Ocean researchers and marine biologists are hopeful that some marine species that calcify for survival will be able to adapt to the changing pH levels in the oceans. Others are not so optimistic, and expect that an acidic oceanic environment may result in mass extinction and serious disruptions to aquatic food chains.

The ocean absorbs up to 30% of the Carbon Dioxide which is released into the world.

Sometimes called “climate change’s equivalently destructive twin”, ocean acidification is becoming more and more noticeable as the seawater’s changing chemistry begins to cause environmental and economical problems. When the Industrial Revolution began around 1760, fossil fuel–powered machines gained an immense amount of accessibility and popularity. Since then, carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere have risen enough to change the pH of the world’s oceans. Given that the ocean absorbs almost half of the CO2 that is released into our atmosphere, ocean acidification is inclining into an even greater problem as fossil fuels become a more common energy source in our society. Higher acid levels can harm wildlife, disrupt the food chain, and negatively impact industries that rely on the ocean for business. Ocean acidification is causing growing dilemmas for both marine ecosystems and ocean-based economies. Although many companies and organizations are attempting to fix this problem, acidification is still threatening to cause increasingly harmful issues for the future.

For the past 200 years, the rapid increase in atmospheric CO2 continues to be produced by, the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, industrialization, cement production, and other land-use changes. The ocean absorbs much of this excess CO2 through air-sea gas exchange, resulting in changes in seawater chemistry. Due to human-made emissions, the CO2 content of the oceans has dramatically increased and is gradually acidifying the surface waters. As a result of human-made emissions, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and oceans has increased dramatically during recent decades. In the ocean, the accumulating CO2 is gradually acidifying the surface waters, making it difficult for shelled organisms such as corals and certain open sea plankton to build their calcium carbonate skeletons. Since this process affects the functioning of several marine ecosystems, it has been massively studied in recent years. However, getting an accurate measure is complicated because the effect of ocean acidification on the rates of calcium produced by marine organisms is extremely variable and its species specific. Since scientists incline to use local and site-specific field measurements, treating reef environments and open sea environments separately, their measurements reflect the local response of individual organisms to elevated CO2 levels, leaving out the overall picture.

As the carbon dioxide (CO2) level in the atmosphere rises, as a result of ongoing burning of fossil fuels and emissions from land-use changes, an increasing amount of the gas is absorbed by the

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.

Most people when hearing about greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide think of global warming, the ozone layer being destroyed, burning of fossil fuels, and the heating of the atmosphere; however, not many relate it to the ocean and the coral reefs. With the climate changing due to the increasing amount of carbon dioxide, ocean acidification is increasing and as a result coral reefs are at stake of being destroyed. Biorock is one of the most innovative solutions to start reversing this crisis and move towards reducing the ocean’s acidification with the added benefit of saving the coral reefs.

This increased acidity in the ocean is beginning to have negative effects on the animals that call it home. Some marine animals, such a coral, oysters, and mussels, have exoskeletons that are comprised of calcium carbonate, which they obtain from the seawater around them. Calcium carbonate is becoming less available to these animals due to the increase in bicarbonate. Bicarbonate is the bond between two hydrogen ions and a carbonate. While calcium and hydrogen can both bond with

Ocean Acidification is an incredibly important topic that has not been addressed toughly by mainstream media. It is causing ocean warming, mass extinction of fish species, coral bleaching, phylogenic changes in ocean populations, and many more negative consequences. I did my senior project on coral bleaching due to ocean acidification and there has been little new information on the subject, in the public sector, since then. According to a study done in 2016 a strong link between seawater pH and coral calcification is supported by data “the pH of the coral calcifying fluid (CCF) is elevated relative to the surrounding seawater pH, and that acidification of the surrounding seawater causes a reduction in pH of the CCF” (Edmunds et al., 2016). The Great Barrier Reef has been in crisis for at least a couple decades because of severe coral bleaching and calcification. In the last couple years, large sections of the reef have died because of changing environmental conditions. The situation is similar in many of the coral reefs around the planet. Ocean Acidification will continue to have monumental lasting negative effects on the environment unless drastic changes are made to the way humanity is using our natural resources.

Labeled as one of the top environmental issues today, ocean acidification has been found to be linked to a decrease in ocean pH levels, negative impacts on calcifying species of marine organisms, and the rise in temperature of the ocean. Furthermore, ocean acidification occurs when the carbon dioxide found naturally within the environment, as well as anthropogenically released, is absorbed into the ocean and then chemically reacts to the saltwater to create carbonic acid (H2CO3) which also leads to a decrease in carbonate ions. Learning more, it has been found that approximately 30% of the carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean and as more carbon dioxide is released by anthropogenic sources, such as burning of fossil fuels and industrial activities, the levels of carbon dioxide found absorbed within the ocean increases(NOAA, 2012). In the ocean, carbonate ions and calcium carbonate minerals are found to be the building blocks for an exoskeleton for most marine organisms and with a lack of these ions the marine life will begin to literally deteriorate. For example, shells of mollusks such as snails, clams, and oysters all have three basic layers that comprise of calcium carbonate and then approximately 2% of protein is left (Horne, n.d.). With the decrease of carbonate ions and an increase in hydrogen ions that have nothing to bond to, the shells will deteriorate and lead to more energy being spent on creating new shells (Ocean