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 >
The Acidification of the Ocean
The ocean is becoming more acidic. That's bad. After a long time, the CO2 dissolves into the ocean. That's good. For the land things. Kind of. It affects many creatures, one of which is coral. It makes the temperature rise. This makes some coral food, the zooxanthellae (say that 5 times quickly) leave and/or die. This causes the coral to become white and fragile. Eventually, if the acidification gets bad enough, the coral reefs will fall apart completely. That's bad. But we can stop it by decreasing our carbon footprint. That would be good.
source: http://www.teachoceanscience.net/teachi … ral_reefs/