In addition to the famous impacts of atmospheric carbon on global warming, there is an equally worrisome effect of carbon dioxide on the oceans: ocean acidification (or OA for short). Here at I2SEA we have a series of resources about OA, including Our Acidifying Ocean, which is an introductory activity and virtual lab (note: now mobile compatible!).
A student suggested that we start a conversation topic about OA, and here it is! Have you heard about Ocean Acidification? If so, are you worried about it? How do you think we can best raise awareness about it among your fellow students and the general public? Have you seen particularly good links or films about OA that you would like to share? What are you doing to address the problem?
Ocean Acidification >
Ocean Acidification
Ocean acidification is when the amount of carbonate is reduced in the ocean. Carbonate is a key building block in seawater. Ocean acidification makes it much more difficult for marine organisms, such as coral and some plankton, to form their shells and skeletons, and existing shells may also begin to dissolve. Ocean acidification is caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Ocean acidification can alter marine food chains and food supply to humans.
I really agree with your statement, I think we should protect our ocean by not exploiting them and not hunting almost extinct animals. We don't need to use unnecessary stuffs in our daily life, such as plastics, or anything that might harm our ocean. I really hope that we could help the ocean by spending more money on protecting the ocean. And I really that hope we could succeed in doing so.
I completely agree because ocean acidification is a horrific event that needs to be stopped before it continues to harm our beloved ocean and the creatures that live in it. Since the start of the industrial revolution ocean acidity has already increased by 30 percent! This number will continue to climb rapidly and is estimated to double by the end of this century. It is so sad that our beautiful ocean’s coral reefs are being affected by our careless actions. As CO2 enters the ocean it gets mixed with seawater and something called carbonic acid is produced. This rise in acidification as more carbon enters the oceans interferes with coral forming its skeleton. They cannot form them as quickly as they used to, causing them to disappear. Entire coral reef ecosystems could be destroyed in the next 20 to 30 years. Not only do coral reefs house millions of species that would be negatively affected by this. It would also throw off the food chain that feeds us and leave us without the protection of our coral reefs against storm surges. The results of these events would affect over 400 million people. The only way that we can stop this is if we stop releasing excess amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. But dont worry! There are some ways to help save our oceans such as smarter traveling choices, choosing sustainable seafood, and putting a limit on our plastic use. For more ideas to help: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ocean/help-our-ocean.html
For more information on ocean acidification:
https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/theacidtest/welcome.html
https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/oceanasalab_oceanacid/
https://www.awi.de/en/focus/ocean-acidi … ation.html
Ocean acidification also makes the Earth hotter. Affecting the severity of hurricanes and other storms since heat makes more water evaporate then the water in sky is also heated up intensifying them even more.
I agree with you that green house gases don't affect just the animals and the people on land but also the ones sea.Our actions are affecting the marine creatures at sea destroying their habitats food and life forms. We also dump in lakes rivers etc we can put up laws for dumping into the body of waters affecting the live forms that live in them.