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
What I'm worried about on the topic ocean acidification is how my children might never get to see the beauty that is in our oceans. Nobody has yet to explore all of our oceans, which is amazing to me because we have all this beauty and life in our waters that is still out there! If we continue to emit CO2 scientists predict that by 2050 we may lose 95% of our coral reefs. This will happen because when the oceans get warmer it leads to more carbon dioxide absorption and therefore more acidity which can lead to coral bleaching,and death.
I agree with you, it is sad that the next generations will not be able to witness the coral reefs in their true healthy forms, due to ocean acidification. Writers for Oceana claim that ocean acidification leads to corals not only growing slower but also make them weaker. Corals already try to grow as fast as possible because they endure harsh conditions when growing. Reef dwellers break coral skeletons to eat or to build a shelter. However, the high amounts of carbon dioxide in the ocean cause the coral skeletons to be weaker and therefore, they would not be able to recover from the reef dweller's destruction. This causes the coral to shrink. Additionally, writers for Climate Interpreter state that warmer ocean temperatures cause coral bleaching, which makes corals more likely to face diseases. Also, coral reefs have structures made of calcium carbonate. In other words, they need a steady pH in the water for them to extract the calcium. However, ocean acidification threatens this process.
https://usa.oceana.org/effects-ocean-ac … ion-corals
https://climateinterpreter.org/content/ … oral-reefs