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Carbon pollution is changing the ocean’s chemistry, slowing its ability to uptake

CO2, making it more acidic, and harming shellfish and other marine life we depend
on.

The ocean has absorbed about 29 percent of global CO2 emissions since the end of
the preindustrial era. In the last decade (from 2008-2017), we’ve dumped into the
atmosphere about 40 gigatons of emissions of heat-trapping gases each year from the
burning of fossil fuels and land-use change—or the equivalent to 252 million blue
whales.

PODCAST


Stressed-Out Fish and Ocean Acidification


Dr. Sarah Cooley explains how changes in ocean chemistry are having a ripple effect
on sea life and our economy.

What is ocean acidification?

When carbon dioxide enters the ocean, it dissolves in saltwater. First, it forms
carbonic acid. Then, this carbonic acid breaks apart – or “dissociates” – producing
bicarbonate ions and hydrogen ions. Ocean acidification results from an increased
concentration of hydrogen ions and a reduction in carbonate ions due to the
absorption of increased amounts of CO2. Clams, mussels, crabs, corals, and other
sea life rely on carbonate ions to grow their shells and thrive.

Acidity:

Acidity is a measure (in units of pH) of the concentration of hydrogen ions in a


solution, in this case, ocean water.
For millions of years, the exchange of CO2 between the surface of the ocean and the
atmosphere remained constant. In the past 150 years, humans have greatly increased
the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels and changing land-use
practices. As a result, the ocean has absorbed about 29 percent of this additional
carbon.
This added CO2 has had significant effects on the ocean. Surface waters are now 30
percent more acidic than they were at the start of the industrial era. Ocean
acidification is now happening at a faster rate than at any point in the last 66
million years, and possibly in the last 300 million years. And projections show
that by the end of this century, ocean surface waters could be more than twice as
acidicas they were at the end of last century if we do not reduce our carbon
emissions.

CO2 concentrations drive rising temperatures and acidification:

The rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is driving up ocean


surface temperatures and causing ocean acidification. Although warming and
acidification are different phenomena, they interact to the detriment of marine
ecosystems. These changes to the ocean aren’t occurring at the same rates
everywhere: there are significant differences across gradients of temperature,
latitude, and depth.
The rate at which water absorbs CO2 decreases as water temperature increases. This
means that polar regions like Alaska, where ocean water is relatively cold, can
take up more CO2 than the warmer tropics. As a result, polar surface waters are
generally acidifying faster than those in other latitudes, and on average, warmer
regions of the ocean are releasing CO2 into the atmosphereinstead of absorbing it.
The regional differences in ocean acidification can also be partially explained by
the effects of ocean circulation patterns. Due to prevailing wind patterns and
other natural phenomena, the ocean upwells nutrient-rich and more acidic or
corrosive deep waters. Under natural conditions, an infusion of nutrient-rich,
cool, and corrosive deep waters into the upper layers is beneficial to coastal
ecosystems. But in regions with acidifying waters, an infusion of cooler deep
waters (which also tend to be more acidic) amplifies the effects of existing
acidification.
In other regions, usually the tropics, rising temperatures in surface waters
is slowing down the exchange of carbon between deep waters and surface waters. Here
wind plays a key role: it mixes upper and deeper waters and carries the CO2-
saturated waters to deeper areas of the ocean. With rising surface temperatures,
it’s harder for winds to mix these layers, which become increasingly stratified,
meaning that they sit on top of one another. Consequently, in locations with warmer
waters, upper layers are becoming more saturated with CO2 and unable to absorb
more, and lower layers have less oxygen (known as deoxygenation).

Ocean acidification affects marine life

Coastal and marine ecosystems are under tremendous stress from climate change.
Ocean acidification, paired up with other climate impacts like warming waters,
deoxygenation, melting ice, and coastal erosion, pose real threats to the survival
of many marine species.
Ocean acidification is particularly detrimental to species that build their
skeletons and shells from calcium carbonate (like clams, mussels, crabs,
phytoplankton, and corals), and that constitute the bottom of the food chain.
Acidification reduces the availability of carbonate ions in ocean water, which
provide the building blocks these organisms need to make their shells and
skeletons, significantly reducing the chances for their offspring to survive.
In the presence of other climate stressors, ocean acidification makes it harder for
species to bounce back. Take the problem of coral bleaching, for example. Corals
maintain a mutualistic relationship with photosynthetic algae living in their
tissue: corals provide shelter for the algae and each provide the other with
nutrients necessary for their survival. But when water temperatures get too high,
corals expel these algae, leaving them more vulnerable to disease and less able to
maintain and build their skeletal structure.
Ocean acidification hinders the ability of corals to recover from these bleaching
events because it reduces the amount of calcium carbonate available that corals
need to grow back to health.

Ocean acidification solutions:

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions:

The most obvious and effective way to prevent further ocean acidification is to
drastically reduce carbon emissions. This means cutting down on - and ideally
eliminating - our use of fossil fuels.
In order to make this a reality every sector of our global society needs to
decarbonise. We need to find alternative energy sources and transition to renewable
energy use, which means a collective effort by governments, companies, and
individuals.

“Until we make this change, carbon emissions will continue to rise which means that
our oceans will continue to become more acidic.
”

Restoration of carbon sinks:

Even if we entirely cut out the use of fossil fuels, there will still be a surplus
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, we therefore also need to work to reduce this
level by restoring and increasing the Earth's carbon sinks. This can be achieved
through activities such as reforestation, afforestation, revegetation, and through
sustainable forestry and agricultural practices.
Additionally, we can continue to invest in and develop technological carbon sinks
to aid natural processes.

Use of Fossil Fuels :

Fossil fuels usage releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere. Ocean acidification occurs when carbon dioxide enters the ocean,
wherever air meets seawater. Acid rain may also add carbon dioxide to the seawater.

Inappropriate Waste Management:

Removal of wastes has been a problem for many countries. As for those that border
waterbodies and masses of water, they have been too hasty on using the oceans as
the potential dumping grounds of domestic and industrial littering. Even so, since
the atmosphere bears the brunt of toxic gases, sea waters are on the receiving end
of unsafe liquid wastes.
Besides direct sewage waste removal, other wastes intensify the acidity in the
water. For example, industrial and agricultural wastes having acidic composites are
a hazard since they lower the PH of the ocean water.

Resources : union of concerned scientists: CO2 and Ocean Acidification | Union of


Concerned Scientists

Greenly : Ocean Acidification: Causes, Issues and Solutions

Environment buddy: Ocean Acidification; Causes, Effects, Solutions | Environment


Buddy

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