Ocean Acidification

I recently watched the Netflix Documentary Seaspiracy about our oceans, climate change, and ocean life. I’d really recommend watching it because it was really informative and I decided to do some more research into a topic brought up in the documentary: ocean acidification. Ocean Acidification is the process of the ocean becoming more acidic. This is caused by the absorption of more and more Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere. According to NOAA, the ocean absorbs about 30% or the carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere. The ocean naturally absorbs carbon dioxide and before the industrial revolution it didn’t absorb too much to have such a huge impact on our oceans. However, since then, the ocean’s pH has increased by 30%. The more carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere, the more acidic the ocean becomes(Ocean acidification). By 2100 the acidity is expected to rise by 170%, according to Triona McGrath (TEDxTalks Ocean acidification - the evil twin of climate change | Triona McGrath | TEDxFulbrightDublin).

The impacts of ocean acidification are already being felt with many studies showing that ocean creatures are already doing worse. One huge area where this is happening is with animals who have shells, or exoskeletons. These animals include sea butterflies, coral reefs, and crabs. As CO2 levels rise in the water, there are less and less carbonate ions for these animals to create their shells with. In a study mirroring the expected levels for 2100, the shell of a sea butterfly, or pteropod, dissolved after 45 days. The dissolving process can be seen in the image below. These tiny creatures are eaten by many different types of animals along the food chain and their ability to make their shells has a huge impact on the climate. In addition, Coral Reefs showed high levels of dissolving at the projected level. Coral reefs support 20% of the marine life in the ocean so their death would have an enormous impact on the oceans. Even fish who don’t need the carbonate to create shells are impacted by this. Clownfish have a more difficult time locating predators which would affect the whole food chain (Ocean acidification).  

    

The best way to contribute to stopping this process is by reducing carbon emissions(Ocean acidification). Without radical changes, a mass extinction may occur which would have a huge impact on humans. In addition, the ocean is home to many wonderful creatures who deserve not to be killed by our harmful processes. There is also still so much to learn since the research into this is very new so staying informed can also be really helpful (Ocean acidification). This only increases our need to combat climate change and lower CO2 emissions before it's too late for our planet and all of the creatures who call it home.  

     Decay of Pteropod Shells in Acidic Water. www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/What+is+Ocean+Acidification%3F.  

     “Ocean Acidification.” Ocean Acidification | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/ocean-acidification.  

     TEDxTalks. “Ocean Acidification - the Evil Twin of Climate Change | Triona McGrath | TEDxFulbrightDublin.” YouTube, YouTube, 26 Feb. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m1X26Auw6Q.