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
Ocean acidification is a scary topic I didn't know about until just a bit ago. I have known for a while that the ocean temperature is rising. I have also known that our corals are bleaching and therefore dying off. But I didn't realise that these two things are so closely related and caused by the same thing, Co2 getting stuck in the ocean. This process starts when carbon gets into the tissues of sea plants such as algae, then that algae gets eaten and whatever eats it releases the carbon back into the ocean generally through breathing. This normally releases the carbon back into the atmosphere but since more Co2 has been released by humans the carbon is getting stuck in the oceans which is warming them. When the oceans warm this affects the coral and causes them to bleach or to die. Scientists even predict that by 2045 we will lose 95% of our coral.