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 >
Algae and Ocean Acidification
I feel like algae aren't talked about as much as they should be. They make up roughly 70% of the oxygen in our atmosphere and many marine creatures eat them, they are essential to our survival. Now, algae is battling ocean acidification and balancing out the CO2 in the water. I know algae are capable of handling a lot of CO2 since it's their food, but I feel the need to bring attention to the fact that if there's too much CO2 in the water for algae to balance out, the change in pH from ocean acidification can possibly reduce algal abundance. Do you guys think that algae and its importance should be talked more about, not just because they produce over half of our oxygen but also because they are balancing out ocean acidification? Also, if pollution increases, overgrowth of algae may harm the ecosystem itself. I feel like this needs to be talked about more.
https://ugc.berkeley.edu/background-con … en-levels/
https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstrea … y%20thrive.
https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/e … ecosystems.
I think we need to raise awareness for this problem because I've never thought about the algae and I know many others haven't either