The Impact Of Carbon Fixation In The Oceans

Climate change is affecting oceans tremendously. Threats faced by the ocean planet seem uncontrollable. In the face of overfishing, pollution, and climate change it may seem like a drop in the bucket. With the amount of light reaching onto the shore, plants should be reduced in order for the rising sea levels to fall. Oceans have also absorbed tons of carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere causing ocean acidification. Coral bleaching is caused by high water temperatures leading to coral death, and can turn into a negative impact on the entire coral ecosystem. We intend to provide options a single person can take in order to help the cause and make a difference. Our mission is to conserve the Earth’s living heritage, our global

“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.

How does Carbon Dioxide affect the pH levels of the ocean? Carbon Dioxide or CO2 for short is one of the most important gases in our atmosphere. Even though it is not abundant as Nitrogen and Oxygen which is a key part of life on earth; carbon dioxide also shares the same job as them. Carbon dioxide is vital to life on earth and plays an important role to plants during photosynthesis. Without photosynthesis plants couldn’t make oxygen and without oxygen humans wouldn’t be able to survive. CO2 also is important to the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas that helps to trap heat in our atmosphere. Without it, our planet would be inhospitably cold. Carbon Dioxide might be important to us, but it can also be very deadly if there is too much In the atmosphere and in the ocean.

Over the years, climate change has affected marine species because it has increased the ocean temperature, causing it to get warmer, which is causing a negative impact to most marine organisms like echinoderms and cnidarians (Quinn, 2016). In many cases, the optimum temperature of growth increased 1-6°C, which created harmful effects on stages of development (Quinn, 2016). In some cases such as the American lobster (Homarus americanus), warming of the ocean had caused smaller body sizes (Le Bris et al., 2016). Even though there is some research that showed that the warm temperature could also benefit the lobster’s population, most of their population has declined in the warmest and southernmost regions of the lobster’s range in places like southern New England and Long Island Sound (Quinn, 2016).

|How might this change marine life populations? What impact could fifty years at this level of emissions have on marine fauna? On marine |

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

Recent research has suggested the P. marinus may be a key contributor to evolution. Since the organism is incredibly abundant, it also produces an abundant amount of oxygen. Therefore, scientists propose that it has produced much of the oxygen we currently breathe, incited the explosion of early life within our oceans, and fueled the atmosphere’s ancient rise of oxygen. Researchers have also observed that there are differing ecotypes of P. marinus. Each ecotype has a unique hue (bright green, yellow, etc..) that corresponds to its depth. This makes the microbe extremely efficient while photosynthesizing. Additionally, this microbe has the power to regulate CO₂ levels that contribute to global warming, due to its part in the carbon cycle. P. marinus is also a key factor in the ocean’s food webs. It tends to thrive in nutrient-poor regions, making it a valuable food source in the ocean’s web. P. marinus also secretes a variety of peptides that in turn cause other oceanic microbes to secrete an enzyme. This enzyme is responsible for detoxifying reactive oxygen

In recent years the amount of Phytoplankton (Plankton) in our oceans have seen such a dramatic decline that in the future it will pose a great threat to the ways in which our world functions. Specifically speaking, all living beings from microscopic algae to marine mammals, seabirds, fish and humans will meet a great demise. From Dalhousie University a research was conducted where lead author Daniel Boyce said: ‘Phytoplankton is the fuel on which marine ecosystems run. A decline in phytoplankton affects everything up the food chain, including humans.’ Many people are unaware of the major contribution to our survival that the phytoplankton provide for us. Alone, it is responsible for 50% of the oxygen we breath in our atmosphere while tropical

The microfossils discovered are actually from a type of phytoplankton that takes in carbon dioxide and excretes oxygen. Known as diatoms, these phyloplankton take roughly 20% of breathable oxygen in the air, air we need to breathe. When they die, diatoms sink down to the dark musty abyssal of the oceans, dragging all the their carbon with them. This process is referred to as “carbon sink,” and it helps prevent the

One-third of the carbon dioxide (CO2) that is in the atmosphere as a result of human activity has been absorbed by oceans where it can remain as carbon for tens to hundreds of years (Ma et al., 2015). Anthropogenic CO2 (ACO2) primarily enters the ocean though differences in partial pressure between the atmosphere and ocean boundary, although uptake by marine organisms is also a significant dissolved carbon contributor (Millero, 1995). Once the ACO2 is dissolved into seawater however, the path it takes from dissolution to sequestration is less clear. Millero (1995) found that ACO2 in the ocean is often transported to a different area of the ocean through physical mechanisms that include wind-driven Ekman transport, eddy fluxes, and lateral transport. Each of these mechanisms contribute to the transportation of masses of water, and therefore dissolved ACO2, around the Southern Ocean (Millero, 1995).

Since the industrial revolution, anthropogenic inputs of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere have increased dramatically. Concentrations in the atmosphere have risen 40% from 1750 to 2011, reaching record highs of 390.5 ppm (Stocker, et al., 2013). Due to this, the amount of dissolved CO2 in the oceans has also increased causing acidification of the oceans which can have several effects, mainly on calcifying organisms. Climate change has also influenced the stratification of the oceans due to density changing affecting nutrient distribution. So far, although a number of methods have been explored, there have been no solutions that don’t have their own issues.

New studies have shown that the tiny, little sea creatures known as plankton can have a huge impact on the atmosphere and could even help cool the earth. The Southern Ocean (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Ocean) has nearly no human influence enacted upon it, therefore making it a perfect isolated area for scientists and researchers to study. The new revelation could lead to a better way to help combat global warming.

Since the beginning of the human race, the ocean has been a major source of food. People near the shores have been taking of advantage of the ocean’s rich and diverse source of nourishment for centuries, both as a source of food and a livelihood. However, since the dawn of the industrial age, humans have begun to take from the ocean more that it can give. As a result, the ocean can no longer provide the human race with the abundance that it once did. As technology rapidly advances, populations skyrocket, and global warming spreads havoc, the ocean’s biodiversity and once abundant supply of fish is dwindling, calling marine scientists and experts to race to find solutions that will restore the oceans health while battling world hunger.

Ocean pollution is one of the most urgent issues in our world today. The ocean is crucial to our ecosystem and it is being severely damaged at an alarmingly increasing rate. In this paper I will educate about the role the ocean plays in our beautiful Earth, why it is being so widely ignored and dismissed, the causes of pollution, and its effects on animals and humans alike.

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