Oceanic Acidification: JA Research

Acid Rain/Ocean Acidification

·      Caused when carbon dioxide, sulfur, or nitrogen combine with seawater

·      Acidification affects the organisms at the bottom of the food chain

o   Sea urchins, coral, plankton

o   Harder to harness calcium carbonate for exoskeleton

·      Increased nitrogen causes algal growth àalgal blooms and eutrophication (low oxygen)

·      Acid rain has largest effects on coastal waters

·      Fossil fuels, farming, raising livestock all create sulfur dioxide, ammonia, and nitrogen oxidesànitric and sulfuric acids

·      Most affected areas: near power plants, eastern North America, Europe, southern and eastern Asia

·      Ocean pH has been lowered by 0.1 since before Industrial Revolution; predicted to decrease another 0.3-.04 by 2100

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (2007, September 7). Acid Rain Has A Disproportionate Impact On Coastal Waters. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 2, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2007/09/070907175147.htm

·      Acidification affects coral reefs

o   Slows growth of reefs (they need carbonate)

o   Reefs are very important to marine life

·      Reduce CO2 emissions to slow acidification

Natural Resources Defense Council (2009, September 17). Ocean Acidification: The Other CO2 Problem. Natural Resources Defense Council. Retrieved March 2, 2012, from http://www.nrdc.org/oceans/acidification/default.asp

·      Severe acidification happened before (water was so corrosive it ate the shells of animals)

o   Took millions of years to recover

·      Ocean acidifying 10 times faster than 55 million years ago when there was a mass extinction; acidification was 55 million years ago

·      .1 lowering of pH means that ocean has 30 percent more hydrogen atoms than 200 years ago

·      Tests run in labs show that acidification inhibits ability to grow calcium carbonate shellsàruin whole ecosystems

·      Lots of CO2 released into atmosphere 55 million years ago; Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum, or PETM

o   Caused many deep ocean species to go extinct

o   Ocean bottom turned red because of acidification

·      Acidification happening faster now than before, so more extinctions possible

·      Acid is stronger, so could affect shallow water too

An Ominous Warning on the
Effects of Ocean Acidification. Yale Environment 360. Retrieved March 7, 2012 from http://e360.yale.edu/feature/an_ominous_warning_on_the__effects_of_ocean_acidification/2241/