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
In the news there's always a big concern for global warming, but not ocean acidification. I'm extremely worried about the health of our oceans because that shows us overall how healthy our water on earth is and how much we have polluted it. I think that educating and bringing more awareness to the issue would help. I really think there needs to be laws and effort to protect the oceans, just like there were/are for the atmosphere. There are many good, but sad videos on youtube about this horrible problem. This is an issue that needs to be stopped.
I also agree that we should also pay more attention to our oceans because the CO2 is causing many types of coral and shells to decrease which mess up the ecosystem.
I agree with you that we should be worried about the co2 levels in the ocean. If we don't watch the levels, the ocean could really have some troubles.
I agree that ocean acidification is a massive problem living on coast of Maine you can see that the shellfish are starting to suffer because of the lack of calcium carbonate in the water.
Over the past 300 million years, ocean pH has been slightly basic, averaging about 8.2. Today, it is around 8.1, a drop of 0.1 pH units, representing a 25-percent increase in acidity over the past two centuries. If we keep polluting at the rate we are then our oceans will turn into acid.
After all, our waters make up most of the planet. We should be trying to protect it much more seriously than we are now.
How could we enforce these laws when we share oceans with other countries?
What major problems are related to ocean acidification?
what causes our oceans to become more acidic and how can we prevent it?