5. What percentage of each of the two gases you listed in Question 4 comes from electric power generation that relies on the burning of fossil fuels like coal?…
Climate change’s equally evil twin seems to be ocean acidification. 25 percent of the CO2 dissolves into the ocean instead of being in the air. When the industrial era started over 525 billion tons of CO2 were absorbed (22 million tons per day). Scientists at first thought that we were good because it warms the planet, but that’s not the case. The ocean is becoming more acidic than ever because of the CO2. 200 years later the water temperature increased by 30 percent. Rivers usually keep the ocean stable because they have to carry all of the chemicals, but they haven’t been able to keep up with all of this CO2. As a matter of fact some of these animals’ shells dissolve in this acidic seawater which doesn’t help at all. With…
The acidity of seawater is determined by the amount of hydrogen ions in solution , which is then measured on the pH scale. The higher the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution, the lower the pH of the solution. As stated in the previous paragraph, carbonic acid ( CO3-2) releases hydrogen ions ( H+) into the solution. If the sea water absorbs more carbon dioxide and then more carbonic acid will be formed as well. Which means the ocean will releases large quantities of hydrogen ions. Thus lowering the pH of the ocean. “ Ocean acidification: A greater threat than climate change or Overfishing,” reports that since the industrial revolution the pH of the ocean has dropped from 8.2 to 8.1. This change in the pH of water over the past 150 years is the greatest seen over the past several million years. ( Burner W. 2008…
Sandra York Mr. Perkins BIO 112-Web 15 October 2014 A Summary of “The Devolution of the Seas” According to Alan B., Sielen, who wrote, “The Devolution of the Seas,” through human error and climate change, our oceans are devolving into waters dominated by microbes, jellyfish, and disease. By destroying the marine habitats within our seas and oceans, humans are threatening their own livelihood by not only destroying a food supply but also other benefits that marine life offers. Pollutants such as, everyday trash, chemicals, and farm fertilizers are not only killing off marine life, but also destroying natural habitats within those waters.…
This sea is predicted as how the oceans of the planet will look like within the next century. The acidification that might happen throughout the oceans of the world is mostly caused by the carbon dioxide emitted from smokestacks and tailpipes. (527) Thirty percent of the carbon dioxide released by man has been soaked in the oceans. Many marine organisms cannot survive in these high carbon dioxide concentrated conditions. The evidence from Castello Aragonese proves that this polluted sea is missing thirty-three percent of marine organisms that live outside the vent system. Another significant organism of the chemistry of the ocean is the coral reef. Coral reefs are essential for the ecosystem of the ocean. Ocean acidification is a threat to their existence. According to Jane Lubchenco, ocean acidification is global warming’s “equally evil twin.” (qtd. in…
“Some coral species lose their skeletons altogether” (Fine & Tchernov, pg 9, par 4), “and skeletal growth of recent recruits can be disrupted” (Cohen, pg 9, par 4). So the disruption of the skeletal growth can then make the reefs weaker and more vulnerable to damage and destruction. The acidity of the ocean doesn't just effect the skeletal growth of the coral reefs either. “This is damaging many ocean species that use calcium carbonate to form their skeletons and shells. Studies have shown that calcium carbonate formation is disrupted if water becomes too acidic”(Fujita, pg 2, par 8). So not only coral reefs being effected in skeletal growth, but all organisms that have an outer shell or exoskeleton have trouble developing a strong shell as the acid restricts the calcium production. Another effect that climate change brings about is rising sea levels. “The most obvious consequence of sea level rise will be an upward shift in species distributions. Most species are expected to be able to keep pace with predicted rates of sea level rise, with the exception of some slow-growing, longlived species such as many corals” (Knowlton, pg 10, par 1).” However, dramatic ecological changes could result from decreased habitat availability within a…
In the article, “Oceans Are Losing Oxygen—and Becoming More Hostile to Life” by Craig Welch, climate change is affecting the lives of all kinds of sea creatures. This article explains how climate change, and the warming of ocean water, has began taking oxygen out of the water. This means that many fish species have shrunk because of this loss of oxygen. The warmer water speeds up the metabolism of these fish, which makes them breathe in more of the oxygen. A couple of scientists from the University of British Columbia say that the body of the fish grows faster than the gills of the fish, so the water won't be able to provide enough oxygen to maintain the growth. "What we found was that the body size of fish decreases by 20 to 30 percent for…
Coral reefs and how chemical substances can affect these living organisms is what the research is conducted on. We tend to have a genuine love for coral reefs whenever we view someone’s scuba diving photos. Seeing fishes swim around coral reefs is what many assume is the purpose of the reefs, but many do not know their real purpose. However, it comes down to learning the importance of coral reefs and how to protect these species that are very much a part of our ocean. This investigation is important because just like everything in our sea there is, importance in these reefs in our ocean. Not to mention, if we do not learn and protect these species there will be severe consequences for the world that we live in.…
Warmer ocean temperatures are also now understood to cause coral bleaching. Rising levels of carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas emissions) are also decreasing the pH level of the ocean, known as ocean acidification. Evidence suggests that this will have a profound effect on the entire marine ecosystem.…
Ocean acidification impacts marine organisms to varying gradations. For example, photosynthetic algae and seagrasses may benefit from higher CO2 conditions as they require CO2 to live much like plants on land. On the contrary, studies have shown that a more acidic environment has a negative effect on calcifying species, such as oysters, clams, sea urchins, corals, calcareous plankton and many more. When shelled organisms are at risk, the entire food web is also at risk. Currently, over a billion people worldwide rely on food from the ocean as their primary source of protein. Many jobs and economies throughout the world depend on the fish and shellfish in our…
Over the last few years there has also been a large rise in climate causing the oceans to heat up. The oceans heating up cause the carbon dioxide in the water to rise causing a bleaching effect on the coral, which is extremely dangerous because it prevents the coral from growing and causes them to calcify. This issue has caused many conservationist to worry about the future of reefs. According to National Geographic this is becoming a large problem because of how long it takes coral to actually mature. "That spells trouble for corals, which often take 15 years to reach sexual maturity and reproduce only once a year" (As Oceans Heat Up, a Race to Save World's Coral Reefs). National Geographic along with other programs have started many conservations and programs to help slow down the dying rate of the reefs. A biological oceanographer at the University of Miami gave this quote to National Geographic, "So a lot of our efforts are to give first aid to buy time until we can fix the problem, like CO2 [levels]. We can make a difference. It's not that hard" (As Oceans Heat Up, A Race to Save World's Coral Reefs). This just shows that with everyone's help we can all change the future of these…
It is believed that 4.6 billion years ago our Earth was formed. And over 200 million years ago the great body of water on this planet, what we call the ocean, was able to be formed (History of the Ocean). For 200 million years our ocean has flourished with the life of all matters of creatures from some of the first ever cells to take life, to pre-historic dinosaurs, to the fish, plants, and mammals we see today. However, today we face a new point in the history of our ocean. Today we face the potential destruction of our beloved body of water.…
Ocean acidification is hurting many sea creatures in the ocean. It is also hurting the world food chain. Ocean acidification is when carbon dioxide (Co2) is released into the ocean and the saltwater consumes the Co2. Many creatures have trouble living and reproducing when the ph level is low. It is hurting the world food chain because many people rely on sea creatures for food and if they are slowly dying, there won't be enough food in the world to hold all these people.…
The research conducted by P.D. Ward and his team of scientists is supported mainly by carbon isotope evidence collected from the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Colombia, Canada. The evidence of the carbon isotopes that were unaffected by diagenesis is synchronized with the sudden extinction of marine plankton which leads one to infer that the two extinctions happened around the same time. The scientists also collected “bulk samples of black shale (Ward, 2001).” These samples varied from location to location which also contributes to the hypothesis that extinction occurred. Another piece of evidence recorded is the fact that monotid bivalves went extinct in the lower Kennecott Point section where the researchers also studied.…
Ocean acidification is the name given to the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans, caused by their uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Dissolving CO2 in seawater increases the hydrogen ion (H+) concentration in the ocean, and thus decreases ocean pH.…