The Primary Source Of Ocean Acidification

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.

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.

This increase in oceanic inorganic carbon has offset the seawater carbonate chemistry by causing increasing concentrations of CO2 and bicarbonate, while causing decreasing concentrations of carbonate and pH levels (Dedmer 2013). Rost and colleagues (2008) express that emissions of fossil fuel have caused an immense increase in the levels of atmospheric CO2, which are then deposited into the surface water of oceans. This increase in carbonic acid is in turn decreasing the pH balance, which poses a threat to marine organisms.

Ocean acidification is becoming on of the most concerning subjects compared to global climate change. pH is the level of acidity, seven being neutral fourteen being most basic and zero being most acidic. The pH levels in the ocean are dropping and becoming more acidic. This is happening because of increasing carbon dioxide emissions. The ocean is taking in the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Ocean acidification is where the ocean water becomes more acidic due to the amount of carbon dioxide in the water. Humans use fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas that release large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Oceans absorb about one quarter of the carbon dioxide released each year, and since the amount of carbon dioxide in the water increases, it becomes more acidic (Ocean Acidification, NOAA). More acid in the water means that it will be lower on the pH scale and will release more hydrogen ions. This is in comparison to having more base in the water, where it will be higher on the pH scale and will release more hydroxyl ions. The pH scale rates the concentration of hydrogen in water, and acidic water releases more hydrogen ions than basic water. The scale goes from zero to fourteen, where a pH of seven is neutral, a pH less than seven is acidic, and a pH greater than seven is basic. Oceans have an average pH of 8.16, but that number is predicted to decrease

Hardt, M.J. and C. Safina. 2009. How acidification threatens ocean from the inside out: Carbon dioxide emissions are making the oceans more acidic, imperiling the growth and reproduction of species from plankton to squid. Scientific American 301:66-73.

Ocean acidification is the process in which the ocean soaks up carbon dioxide and its pH lowers. At the current point in time, the pH in the ocean has dropped 0.1 pH. ALthough this doesn’t seem like much, since pH is logarithmic, this means that the ocean is 30% more acidic than before. This jump in acidity will literally melt the shells of oysters, and sometimes even fish. What causes ocean acidification is carbon dioxide. Normally, carbon dioxide wouldn’t be that much of a problem as the ocean has a natural buffering system. The carbon dioxide would combine with the water molecules and create a bicarbonate ion then it would gain another H+ molecule and would create a carbonic acid. This acid replaces the much needed carbonate molecules which

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.

Ocean acidification is becoming on of the most concerning subjects compared to global climate change. pH is the level of acidity, seven being neutral fourteen being most basic and zero being most acidic. The pH levels in the ocean are dropping and becoming more acidic. This is happening because of increasing carbon dioxide emissions. The ocean is taking in the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Ocean acidification is a bad consequence. Which is excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Which we don't see or feel because its effects are happening underwater. Ocean acidification is known for being the “climate change’s equally evil twin.” At least one quarter of the carbon dioxide released by burning coal also by oil and gas. They don’t go into the air instead it dissolves into the ocean. Ocean warming is how the atmosphere affects oceans, and oceans influence the atmosphere. It might be a great thing scientists thought. Less carbon dioxide in the air to warm up the planet, scientists said. This has slowed warming. Many changes came at the ocean’s chemistry. As the air temperature rises up, oceans absorb some of this heat and become warmer also. The water becomes more acidic when carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater. It drops the ocean’s pH. Scientists didn’t worry about this process. Reason being, they always assumed that rivers carried enough dissolved chemicals. Which come from rocks to the ocean to keep the ocean’s pH stable. Carbon dioxide has been quickly dissolving. Natural buffering hasn’t even been able to keep up. Resulting in dropping pH in surface waters. The surface layers mix into deep water. The entire ocean is affected. The future is unpredictable

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

87% of all human produced carbon dioxide emissions come from the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas. Out of this 87% coal is 43% of that and oil is 36%, and lastly natural gas is 20%. The burning of fossil fuels releases energy which is turned into heat, therefore being released into the atmosphere polluting it. In approximately one year 33.2 billion tons and carbon dioxide emissions were

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.