What's Ocean Acidification?

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.

increases. When carbon dioxide dissolves at the ocean’s surface it reacts with the water and then

This fluctuation occurs due to an uptake of Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere. When this Carbon Dioxide is absorbed by the ocean it changes the chemical composition of the water. When Carbon Dioxide dissolves in the ocean, Carbonic Acid is created. This acid begins to raise the acidity of the water, primarily close the surface, which has been proven to impede the growth of the shells of certain marine species such as corals, oysters, and lobsters. Carbonic Acid has also been proven to be a leading cause of reproductive disorders in some fish species. On the pH scale, substances are rated from 0 to 14. The lower numbers of the scale, such as those with pH levels of five or under, are considered to be more acidic. Conversely, the higher numbers on the scale such as numbers nine or higher, are considered to be more basic. A pH level of seven is perceived as neutral. Examples of substances believed to be more acidic include: (in order from most acidic to least) battery acid, sulfuric acid, vinegar, et cetera. Some of the substances perceived to be more basic include: drain cleaner, bleach, and Ammonia. As far back as records have been made, the ocean’s pH has been a tad basic, averaging about 8.2. Today, the pH is approximately 8.1, a descent of 0.1 pH units. This drop in pH represents a 25-percent

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.

“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”, by Marah J. Hardt and Carl Safina addresses the dangers of increasing acidity in the ocean caused by carbon dioxide. Hardt, a research scientist and writer, is the founder of Ocean Ink. Safina, an adjunct professor at Stony Brook University, is the founding president of the Blue Ocean Institute.

In the modern industrial era, the levels of Carbon Dioxide produced are much more significant than in years before. Due to Carbon Dioxides involvement in ocean acidification, this is a major issue. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the pH of the ocean surface has fallen by 0.1 units. Although this may not seem significant, due to the logarithmic properties of the pH scale, this change signifies about a 30% increase in ocean acidity. If this issue isn’t addressed, there will be dire consequences for both marine organisms, as well as humans. To understand ocean acidification, some chemistry needs to be defined and understood.

What is ocean acidification, what can we do to help the oyster and shellfish from dying. How much does the ocean absorb over the past 250 years of carbon dioxide. How is the oyster farmers dying in the Northwest. How does IOOS help oyster farms. How much ocean acidity may increase by the end of the century. These are only few of the question that not been answered.

Between present day and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the concentration of CO2 dissolved in our oceans has risen by more than 30% (1). This is because nature wants to exist in equilibrium (2), so our oceans are absorbing CO2 until the concentration of the molecule is the same or similar to that of the air around it. Since the amount of carbon dioxide in the air is increasing, the amount absorbed into the sea is increasing as well. Experts say that if the levels of CO2 continue to increase at a similar rate, the end of the century will sea the ocean 150% more acidic than pre-Industrial Revolution (2,7). These rates have not been seen in more than 20 million years (2,7).

This tragedy is called ocean acidification. Ocean Acidification is the rapid decrease in the pH, (pH is the measure of ocean acidity,) of the Earth's ocean, caused by its intake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This rapid increase of carbon dioxide is directly coming from the large consumption of fossil fuel that humans constantly release into the air for our own selfish reasons. As we increase the level of carbon dioxide that is being released in a short amount of time, we are letting small amounts seeps into the earth's oceans through the continual water cycle. When the carbon dioxide seeps into the oceans, it begins to turn into carbonic acid. In small amounts, carbonic acid is not seriously harmful and is usually part of the ocean

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.

Ocean Acidification is, excess carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. All of ocean acidification happens underwater; that is why it is unseeable and unfeelable. When coal, oil, and gas release carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, it dissolves into the ocean. The ocean has absorbed approximately, 525 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. Scientists once believed that, when the carbon dioxide (CO2) entered the atmosphere and dispersed into the ocean, it left less carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air to warm planet Earth. But, they quickly learned that the ocean's chemistry was changing.

The changes of ocean acidity have dramatically increased in the past years. The Changes in acidity that should have taken 5,000 to 10,000 years, have taken 50-80 because of this acidity. These changes that have not changed

An increased amount of acidification has disrupted the chemical balance in the ocean waters in the recent hundreds of years due to the high amount of burning fossil fuels. The Industrial Revolution was a pivotal moment for the chemical equilibrium in the ocean. During this time, scientists realized the prominent effects that the pollution of fossil fuels had on the atmosphere and, respectively, the oceans. Exhaustible fossil fuels such as natural gas, oil, and coal are being used by the human population, and it is releasing large amounts of Carbon Dioxide into the air (National Ocean Service). This in turn creates an atmosphere that is immensely concentrated in CO2; therefore, the ocean absorbs more of the CO2 in the air. According to Marah Hardt and Carl Safina from Yale Climate Connections, high concentrates of carbon dioxide in the ocean creates a PH balance that is very low causing the ocean to become very acidic. When carbon

Anthropogenic activity has affected a large number of ecosystems in the world including the earth’s oceans. Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) have been escalating since the rise of the industrial revolution and are now at a far more prominent rate than previously experienced in the Earth's history primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels (Wood et al., 2008). The concentration of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere now surpasses 380 parts per million (ppm), which is more than 80 ppm over the highest values of the past 740,000 years (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007). As a result, the oceans have absorbed approximately 25% to 30% of the CO2 in the atmosphere acting as carbon sinks and decreasing the rate of CO2 rise in the atmosphere, which has had a direct effect on the ocean’s chemistry (Logan, 2010). This results in the most prominent phenomena known as ocean acidification, which worsens day-to-day as CO2 enters the oceans at a more noteworthy rate than ever before, diminishing the ocean's natural buffering capacity and lowering the pH (Wood et al., 2008). This is documented to have a significant threat to marine species. As CO2 enters the ocean and comes in contact with the water, it reacts and changes the chemical properties of the ocean itself (Wood et al., 2008). This process produces carbonic acid that breaks down into bicarbonate, carbonate, and hydrogen ions that increase the acidity. The ocean’s pH commonly ranges between 7.8 and 8.2, yet, recent studies show that

“When carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by seawater, chemical reactions occur that reduce seawater pH, carbonate ion concentration, and saturation states of biologically important calcium carbonate minerals.” These chemical reactions are termed "ocean acidification” by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association. It has been shown by various studies that the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have increased by almost 40% from days before the industrial revolution until present day. According to a study done by a European Research group, the parts per million volume (ppmv) was approximately 280 and has reached a ppmv of over 380(Turley). This exponential increase in carbon dioxide is pushed by our human tendencies. Two of the main factors that lead to ocean acidification are fossil fuel combustion and deforestation, both of which have been happening at a faster pace than ever before in the Earth’s history(Orr). The ascending level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is heavily dependent on the ocean’s ability to absorb it. With the absence of a carbon dioxide absorption by the ocean according to a study done by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA) would be close to 500 ppmv, which would have led to an even greater increase in temperature around the world. To date the ocean has taken in close to 450 billion tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide, also known as 33% of carbon emissions. With all of this uptake the ocean faces problems as