Ocean Acidification Research Paper
The oceans are one of the most sacred places on this earth, the last mysterious frontier left. They hold millions of different marine animals, and many more that are waiting to be discovered. However, the wide blue waters are beginning to fade fast. Recently, a new pollutant has been exposed, carbon dioxide, is causing this acidification. Ocean acidification is when the saltwater absorbs enough carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that it changes the pH of the water. This is what is happening to the oceans now, and it has monstrous impacts on ocean composition. Ocean acidification has been one of the largest negative impacts on the quality of the ocean, impacting the mortality of marine life, decreasing the economy of commercial fisheries,
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Due to the oceans being so vast, they “absorb an estimated 22 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every day” (Kirshenbaum). The carbon dioxide absorbed is changing the chemistry of the seawater, and this process is called ocean acidification. Ocean water is not being turned into acid, but the pH of the water is turning more acidic. When carbon mixes with the saltwater, it creates a compound called carbonic acid. From there it immediately breaks down, forming bicarbonate and hydrogen. This excess hydrogen increases the water’s acidity. Normally, saltwater is at “8.1- 8.2 pH, which is slightly alkaline, however in the next few years it is estimated to be brought down to 7.6 pH” (Krishenbaum), which is far too acidic for most marine …show more content…
They produce large mounds of calcium carbonate, much like tropical corals, although at a much slower rate than the tropical corals. Contrary to public belief, it is the “deep-water coral communities that will first to experience a shift from saturated to undersaturated conditions of calcium carbonate” (Doney, 24). Organisms that produce aragonite are more vulnerable to changes in ocean acidity than those that produce calcite. This is due to the fact that they can coincide with the aragonite saturation horizon, which is higher than the calcite saturation horizon. The increasing of carbon dioxide levels and decreasing of pH levels is causing the saturation levels to raise, which causes the corals to rise with
Due to the oceans being so vast, they “absorb an estimated 22 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every day” (Kirshenbaum). The carbon dioxide absorbed is changing the chemistry of the seawater, and this process is called ocean acidification. Ocean water is not being turned into acid, but the pH of the water is turning more acidic. When carbon mixes with the saltwater, it creates a compound called carbonic acid. From there it immediately breaks down, forming bicarbonate and hydrogen. This excess hydrogen increases the water’s acidity. Normally, saltwater is at “8.1- 8.2 pH, which is slightly alkaline, however in the next few years it is estimated to be brought down to 7.6 pH” (Krishenbaum), which is far too acidic for most marine …show more content…
They produce large mounds of calcium carbonate, much like tropical corals, although at a much slower rate than the tropical corals. Contrary to public belief, it is the “deep-water coral communities that will first to experience a shift from saturated to undersaturated conditions of calcium carbonate” (Doney, 24). Organisms that produce aragonite are more vulnerable to changes in ocean acidity than those that produce calcite. This is due to the fact that they can coincide with the aragonite saturation horizon, which is higher than the calcite saturation horizon. The increasing of carbon dioxide levels and decreasing of pH levels is causing the saturation levels to raise, which causes the corals to rise with