Essay on the changes in the oceans
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The ocean is the largest ecosystem on the planet, it covers 70% of the Earth’s surface and accounts for approximately 91% of all water found on the planet. Because of it’s large and staggering appearance, it is frequently misinterpreted to be a stable and resilient environment unaffected by humans. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The ocean is not only dynamic and sensitive, but it is also severely impacted by our lifestyle choices. Ocean acidification, which refers to the reduction of pH levels in the ocean is caused by an uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.(NOAA) Ocean acidification alters the ocean’s chemical makeup creating a slightly more acidic pH level; this process has very severe consequences for not only ocean …show more content…
Mankind’s reliance on fossil fuels as a primary source of energy is swiftly changing almost all of the Earth’s natural environments and processes. It is causing fluctuations in both atmospheric temperatures and in the ocean’s chemical makeup. Eventually these potentially threatening changes will force mankind to simply adapt, or perish.
Many individuals may wonder how scientists can effectively project the future of our oceans despite no historical recordings of ocean acidification. Scientists have found a real life petri dish of seawater conditions similar to what scientists predict the ocean to be like by the year 2050.(The Ocean’s Death March) The location is Castello Aragonese, a tiny island found in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Underneath the island there are large bubbling volcanic vents emitting very large quantities of CO2 , this quirk of geology gives scientists a window 50 years into the future exactly where carbon dioxide levels are projected to be. The effects of such high concentrations of CO2 are noticeable throughout the islands immediate surroundings. The ocean surrounding this area is essentially dead except for some seagrass and jellyfish, which have shown to have very few adverse effects when exposed to high concentrations of carbon. They react by expelling the symbiotic algae that live in their tissues and then turn completely white. Coral bleaching in Australia Elevated sea temperatures are the primary cause of mass coral bleaching events. Bleaching is a stress response of corals, during which they expel their zooxanthellae during unfavorable…
Essay Ocean Acidification And Its Effect On The Environment
effects of ocean acidification, a process that is happening right now in our oceans. Summed up it’s the ongoing decrease of the pH levels in the Earth’s oceans because of the increase of Carbon Dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere. It is causing the ocean to become more acidic over time, which is proving to be detrimental to a lot of marine life. In this paper I will explain what ocean acidification is, why it’s happening, and what it’s affecting.
The Effects Of Ocean Acidification On The Earth 's Oceans
effects of ocean acidification, a process that is happening right now in our oceans. Summed up it’s the ongoing decrease of the pH levels in the Earth’s oceans because of the increase of Carbon Dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere. It is causing the ocean to become more acidic over time, which is proving to be detrimental to a lot of marine life. In this paper I will explain what ocean acidification is, why it’s happening, and what it’s affecting.
Essay Ocean Acidification And Its Effect On The Environment
Ocean acidification can be defined as the change in ocean chemistry driven by the oceanic uptake of chemical inputs to the atmosphere, including carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur compounds (Guinotte and Fabry, p.320). Today, the overwhelming cause of ocean acidification is anthropogenic atmospheric carbon dioxide. Over the past two-hundred years, the rapid increase in anthropogenic atmospheric carbon dioxide has directly led to decreasing ocean pH through air-sea gas exchange, driven by the land-use changes.
Ocean Acidification and Its Effect on Climate Change Essay
Ocean acidification is one of the highest environmental concerns that involve the change in climate. Ocean acidification is caused by uptake of rising atmospheric CO2. This increase in CO2 is from burning fossil fuels. Not only does it affect humans it affects numerous marine ecosystems.
Ocean Acidification And The Growth And Reproduction Of Marine Animals
As mentioned previously, ocean acidification has internal effects on different developmental stages in the growth and reproduction of marine animals. The 2005 Kyoto University in Japan research determined that carbon dioxide concentration of 200ppm being pumped into the seawater reduces growth rates for many sea species (Hardt & Safina 71).
Ocean Acidification Is A Global Threat Of All Marine Ecosystems
Ocean acidification is a global threat to all marine ecosystems. Ocean acidification is the decrease in the pH levels in the ocean caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. That is more than the ocean can take.