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 >
OA
Ocean acidification (OA) levels have already started to rise, although the concern isn’t as high as CO2 in the atmosphere, OA will like many scenarios will circle back to affect humans. CO2 gets trapped into the ocean and bleaches coral reefs, which kills them, killing some sea creatures safe spaces, and even killing some animals. Easily predicted the higher the acid levels in the ocean get the more species will die or lose their reefs etc. A solution that i saw and looked into would be restoring sea grass that will photosynthesize and act as a buffer to other species, during photosynthesis, plants take CO2 out of the water. To do this, sea grasses would have to be planted in estuary type setting of the oceans, meaning it would be really hard to plant it in the deep sea or no fertile ground. This is the only solution i found that sounds remotely promising, either ocean acidification is a big threat on the rise. Reducing CO2 emission would fix a lot fo our problems.