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 >
Aquatic Animals and Acidification
As our ocean's pH level decreases and it becomes more acidic, hundreds of aquatic organisms are affected and weakened. Lots of aquatic organisms have a kind of shell or exoskeleton such as sea urchins, starfish, shellfish, coral, etc. These shells are made of calcium carbonate, but what does this have to do with ocean acidification? As the ocean becomes more acidic these organism's shells are being dissolved making it harder for them to protect themselves. If our oceans pH levels can return to what they once were then these organisms will be able to protect themselves and survive. You can find more information at http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-acidification
The acidifying ocean is a huge problem that is slowly wiping out certain aquatic species due to their lack of protection from their weak fragile shells. In order to restore the pH we need to first help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that is being produced by us, humans. The ocean is working too hard it absorbs around 30% of human made CO2 which is estimated to quickly reach 85% in the long run. Before the industrial era the pH was 8.1, now it is 8.2 and this small change has big consequences that can effect our planet forever.
Hi Hello What are your lifestyles and family's activities? Also Where you from?
I totally agree with you, there is a huge problem with the acidifying ocean. We are a huge contributor to this problem and this will and already has hurt the marine life in deadly ways. This is unfair to the fish because they have not enough time to evolve to this acidic ocean because we have only been producing extreme amounts of CO2 for less than 200 years. Finally, we are unfairly destroying the habitat and exoskeleton of innocent fish.
This is an area in our society that we need to dress immediately. Roughly 3/4 of our earth is covered in water, if we destroy this natural resource then we will be left without many of the processes that we rely on. The ocean acts as a sink for many terrible emissions that we create, but we can not rely on it to clean up our mess. The more gases that the ocean absorb the more detrimental the effect is on it. The animals and plants in the ocean are suffering because of our poor decisions. If we can drastically change our ways of life we may have a chance at saving our ocean.