What is Ocean Acidification? is the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans, caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere
What could happen if pH lowers in the world’s oceans?
First, the pH of seawater water gets lower as it becomes more acidic. Second, this process binds up carbonate ions and makes them less abundant
Cruise Plan and Map:
Where is the Davis Strait? the strait is in Sisimiut, Greenland, it separates the depths of Baffin Bay (north) from those of the Labrador Sea (south) and forms part of the Northwest Passage, a route through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
What do the scientists plan to do to measure Ocean Acidification on this cruise? Scientists plan to measure ocean acidification on this cruise by equipping each mooring line with a ‘CTD’ that measures the water’s conductivity (salinity), temperature, and depth (pressure). In addition to measuring these tracers, each line is equipped with current meters (RCM-8 and ADCPs) that determine both themagnitude and direction of the water flow. Continuous measurements of current velocities, temperature and salinity supply the information needed to construct an annual budget for heat and salt transport through the Strait.
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That complexity makes it difficult to measure. Nearly all of these channels funnel into Baffin Bay. The Davis Strait bounds the southern end of Baffin Bay, and thus provides a convenient “choke point.” By measuring at this one location (rather than in the many channels to the north), it captures all of the water going in and out of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. As a connector between the Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, the Davis Strait is a unique environment to study water
The Bay of Fundy, which is found off the shores of Nova Scotia, has the
When assessing the validity that Canada’s has a claim to Northwest Passage sovereignty three questions need t...
"An Ocean Of Trash." Scholastic Action 33.12 (2010): 16. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
Macfarlane, Daniel. "Rapid Changes: Canada and the St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project." University of Waterloo. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. .
The reduction in photosynthesising biomass led to an increased reliance on the Worlds other carbon sink, Oceans. Between 26-44% of CO2 in the atmosphere is absorbed by oceans by photosynthesising organisms, mainly phytoplankton (Archer, D. and Pierrehumbert, R., 2011), seawater chemically reacts with aqueous Carbon Dioxide, one of the end products is Hydrogen ions (H+) (NOAA, 2013). The increased concentration of H+ results in the ocean becoming more acidic, since pH is determined by concentration of Hydrogen ions.
Central Idea: To show the benefits of Government funded exploration and examination of the oceanic environments across the globe.
Strait and Ungava Bay; on the east by Labrador (Which is a part of Newfoundland),
Raven, J., Caldeira, K., Elderfield, H., Hoegh-Guldberg, O., Liss, P., Riebesell, U., ... & Watson, A. (2005). Ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. The Royal Society
As CO2 is absorbed into the ocean, it undergoes a chemical reaction that creates an unfavorable environment for many marine organisms. Carbon dioxide reacts with water (H2O) to form carbonic acid (H2CO3). Carbonic acid then rapidly dissolves to form hydrogen ions (H+) and bicarbonate ions (HCO3-). The ocean is naturally saturated with carbonate ions (CO3−2) whic...
Ocean acidity will spoil marine ecosystems if it remains persistent. Preserving sustainable fishing industries will become unmanageable if the carbon dioxide absorbed by the world’s oceans is not considerably abridged.
Ocean Acidification is the act of CO2 dissolving into seawater, decreasing its alkalinity and increasing it's hydrogen ion concentration; making organisms sensitive to shifts in the water. Anything from temperature change to toxic waste inflicts some sort of change upon the ocean and the creatures it engulfs. As most people are aware, humans are altering the earth’s climate through producing greenhouse gas that is blanketing our atmosph...
In the atmosphere carbon dioxide is chemically neutral, however when it dissolves in seawater it reacts with H2O to form a weak carbonic acid. Over recent years, oceans have become more acidic because of the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The acidity of the ocean is determined by the concentration of hydrogen ions which are then measured on a pH scale – where the greater the level of hydrogen ions, the lower the pH (Askins, 2008). As the pH of the ocean drops from the pre-industrial value of 8.2 to 7.8 by 2020, ocean acidification is predicted to have a great effect on the ocean. Many of the aquatic organisms are very sensitive to the acidity of water, and as a result there will be effects at all levels of the marine food web (Balch & Utgoff, 2009). The carbonate shells of marine animals for example can dissolve in acidic waters. Also coral reefs will also be impacted negatively by increased acidity in addition to the effect that warmer waters are already having on them (McCarty, Wolfenbarger,
Ocean acidification is defined as “…the perturbation to the ocean carbonate system directly caused by ocean uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to the atmosphere.” (Turley) Overtime, our oceans have become more acidic due to rapidly evolving technology and a growing dependence on fossil fuel. In fact, our “oceans have become 26% more acidic since the start of the Industrial Revolution.” (Cullinane) Unfortunately, this acidity continues to rise and “…the pH of surface oceans…is projected to drop another 0.3–0.4 pH units by the end of this century, [which] has not occurred for more than 20 million years of Earth's history.” (Guinotte) Why our oceans today so acidic and what can we to control these pH levels?
Our oceans take a large beating every day by the extremely large amount of pollution humans produce. Our society easily dumps their waste into the oceans to dispose of the excessive amount of garbage, sewage, and chemicals, but this small and simple solution is creating an even bigger problem. The way humans dispose of their wastes is causing the death of our beloved marine life. Not only are we killing off our animals, our food source, and our resources, we are also minimizing our usable water. By having a better understanding of the problem on the severe dumping, it will be easier to find ways to help minimize the pollution that is going into the ocean.
...ut slowly uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (Zepp, & Sonntag, 1995). Hanson, Ducklow and Field (2000) mention that in the ocean, some of the carbon taken up by phytoplankton in order to make shells of calcium carbonate that settles to the bottom of the sea to form sediments. In geological carbon cycle, carbonic acid combines with magnesium and calcium in the Earth's crust to form insoluble carbonates. Carbon dioxide reacts with some minerals to form limestone, then dissolves by rainwater and carries to the oceans. Once there, it can precipitate out of the ocean water and form layer of sediments on the sea floor. The limestone melts and reacts with other minerals under high heat and pressure far below the Earth's surface by releasing carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is then back into the atmosphere through volcanic eruptions (Lockwood, & Hazlett, 2010).