Ocean Acidification


         Ocean Acidification:

Our oceans are carbon sinks, which means that they actually absorb great amounts of CO2. However, they haven't always been this way. Before the industrial era, oceans were actually natural CO2 PRODUCERS, but with the increasing levels of CO2 in our atmosphere, the system was reversed and they started to absorb CO2. 

Scientists used to think of the ocean as a solution for the increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. It was believed that the ocean "would take care of the problem for us". However, they would soon come to notice that their "solution" would come with any unintended consequences. 

Once dissolved in the ocean, a carbon atom will stay there for more than 500 years. However, Carbon Dioxide changes the acidity of the water, leading to a process called ocean acidification that impacts all marine life. In the past 200 years, the ocean has become 30% more acidic.


Although a change in pH of .1 or more might not sound impactful enough to destroy an animal's homeostasis, each level acts as a 10-fold exponential scale. Marine animals are unable to adapt quickly enough to the new changes in their environment. 

Example of effects of Ocean Acidification on Marine Life:

First, ocean acidification contributes to the increasing speed of climate change. Since the oceans are filling up with carbon dioxide, they are running out of "room" to place it. 

Scientists are also starting to see the problems Ocean Acidification affects all aspects of marine life, ranging from corals to whales to plankton. Refer to a future blog or this website for more information.





What needs to be done:

The main way forward from this crisis is the same as most problems caused by climate change-related consequences: attacking the root of the problem, or Carbon Dioxide. Through environmental education and training, the population can be informed and included in adaptive capacities. To convince people about ocean acidification risks, scientific facts may be disseminated on a mass scale. The masses should know that the phenomena is amplifying year after year because the effects are cumulative and that it is really urgent to find mitigation and adaptation solutions for ocean acidification.

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