Marine chemistry is extremely important to not only to the lives living in the oceans, but to our lives as humans. If we don’t start caring about marine chemistry there is going to be nothing left of the oceans. Which means less oxygen for us, less food, less tourist income, etc. It’s not just about saving the oceans and its inhabitants, it’s about saving us as well.
Ocean acidification is on the rise. All the extra CO2 in the world today as to go somewhere. That “somewhere” is our oceans. The extra CO2 is what’s making our oceans have a higher acidity. It’s quite scary what the projected acidity of the oceans are going to be. In the year 2100, the ocean is supposed to be 50 times more acidic than what it is today. That is an extremely big deal. It’s a giant conundrum because organisms can’t live in an ocean that is so acidic! Their exoskeletons will start to disintegrate and they will try and save energy by not growing as large just to try and save their exoskeletons. This might not seem important if clams, crabs, etc., become extinct, but what eats those organisms? What do clams and crabs eat? If these organisms become there will be huge algae blooms that cause other organisms in the
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Most people know next to nothing about plankton because they seem so insignificant amongst other things. But little do they know that plankton it is what allows there to be other organisms in the oceans. Without these guys, there would be no oxygen, no fish, no corals, nothing. It would all cease to exist. Plankton help photosynthesis occur, which in return creates oxygen. Almost everything in the ocean needs oxygen to survive so this is a gigantic deal. Also, they are at the base of the food chain. If there is no plankton there is krill, without krill there’s no small fish, without small fish there are no large fish, and without large fish there are no sharks and so on. Plankton feeds the food web giving life to the
Climate change and Global Warming are out of control. This means that, no matter what policies, processes or actions are implemented, the Earth as we know it will never be the same again. There is significant evidence to support this hypothesis. The dilemma becomes whether we can limit the damage and adapt to a new status quo or not. Rising sea levels and the damage caused by this phenomenon has irreversible impacts on coastlines worldwide. Damage to sensitive reef systems cannot be fixed. This also has permanent impacts of the ecology not just of those immediate areas but also the ocean as a whole.
...oceans. Anthropogenic systems such as the combustion of fossil fuels since the industrial revolution have greatly increased the rate of acidification to levels where negative impacts ensue. Negative impacts occur both to marine organisms that rely on certain water conditions to maintain vital functions and the environment which is damaged by highly acidic waters. There is great variation in the acidity of each of the oceans, differences caused by the chemical composition of the ocean and biogeography. Understanding of the potential impacts of ocean acidification is relatively new to the scientific community and therefore little is known on how to counteract anthropogenic influences. Although reducing the amount of carbon dioxide produced will in turn reduce the lowering of the oceans acidity levels and reduce negative impacts on the environment and marine organisms.
The word plankton originates from the Greek word for “wandering.” Refers to the diverse group of plants and animals that spend some or all of their life cycle drifting in the water of oceans or freshwater lakes. Plankton is abundant and important within the marine environment. Most fo the Earth’s biomass, the mass of living organisms, consist of plankton adrift in the oceans. Ninety-eight percent of marine species are bottom dwelling, but the vast majority of the ocean’s biomass is planktonic. Many of these organisms are capable of locomotion, but are generally unable to move independently of currents and waves. This lack of strong swimming ability separates plankton from nekton, which include organisms that can control their movement in the water. Some planktonic organisms can be quite large, however, plankton are generally smaller than nekton. Plankton can be classified based on their feeding styles.
Ocean acidification is the decrease of pH in the oceans due to absorption of CO2 in the atmosphere (Fabry, 2008). Over the past three hundred million years ocean pH levels have been 8.3, however in the past 200 years the pH level of oceans’ have reduced to 8.1, an increase of 25% in the acidity level (Bednaršek, 2012). The CO2 in the ocean reacts with water to form carbonic acid and consume carbonate ions. As a result a lot of marine species are suffering high mortality rate, lower reproduction and the disruption of ecosystems and food chains. Moreover, over 22 million tons of carbon dioxide goes to the ocean every day (Buffie and Carr, 2010). If the rate of CO2 emission in the ocean is not reduced, the predicted ocean CO2 concentration will be 200% by the end of this century (Buffie and Carr, 2010). This paper will explain two major lines of evidence for ocean acidification. The first evidence is based on the impacts of acidity of ocean on calcifying organisms and the second one is acidosis and impact of CO2 on the physiological process of marine species (Silver Sunbream Fish). Lastly the paper will also touch on the potential pitfall correlated with the conducted experiments, which might have hindered t...
With carbon dioxide levels continuing to rise over the past few decades (fig. 1) and now into the future, concern has been brought to what is happening to the carbonate chemistry of the oceans. Because of these changes in chemistry, the ocean is becoming more acidic. Along with climate change, ocean acidification may be one of the greatest threats to our planet. The higher the ocean’s acidity level goes, the lower the calcium carbonate levels will drop. Even though this is a big scale issue, my goal is to focus on and underline what these changes will mean for the marine life that depend on the calcium carbonate in seawater. I will go in depth with specific regards to a study regarding pteropods or sea butterflies.
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...
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.
is the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans, caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere
Some studies have found “that atmospheric CO2 concentration is approximately 383 parts per million by volume (ppmv), a level not seen in at least 650,000 years, and it is projected to increase by 0.5% per year throughout the 21st century.” (Guinotte) “This is because…the ocean absorbs about a third of fossil fuel emissions, but this amount is likely to increase to 90% in the future.” (Bralower) As a result, “the chemistry of the world's oceans is changing at a rate not seen for 65 million years, with far-reaching implications for marine biodiversity and food security, according to a new United Nations study...” (Knight) “…This change is cause for serious concern [for] many marine organisms…, [because they] may not be able to adapt quickly enough to survive these changes.” (Guinotte)
A big change that has occurred in the oceans all over the world is the Coral Reefs are dying and are predicted to be dead by the end of the century due to the rising acidity of the oceans caused by many different threats to marine ecosystems. Coral reefs cover less than 0.2% of our oceans but they contain 25% of the world’s marine fish species according to Endangered: Biodiversity on the brink, 2010: pg.45). If this is the case that means by the time the end of the century comes around we will have lost close to 25% of the worlds marine ecosystems.
"An Ocean Of Trash." Scholastic Action 33.12 (2010): 16. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
Imagine a lush underwater place. Beautiful structures colorful animals and places that would never have been thought of before. In reality that's not what it really looks like, really the ocean is a desolate place that is barren like a desert. Many marine species have been lost by as much as 49%.(seeker) A big part of that reason is because of coral bleaching which causes as stated above a decline in species that depend on the coral as there home. Coral bleaching is a serious problem that could cause problems for everyone if we don’t fix it.
In the world, there are many animals, both terrestrial and aquatic animals that we know and never know before. Plankton is the one organism that we have probably ever heard its reputation. Someone may know plankton is midget living thing in the sea and as food for animals. It was the best meal of life on the water. Moreover, its dwelling is completely place and a center of the most fishes and plantings. Although people would think the plankton is only food for sea animals but it can be useful to people for take care of various organs in the body and will be creating beauty cosmetics for woman, and human should be aware about ecosystem services to maintain plankton.
Oceans are such so vast that people underestimate the impact their actions —seeming so insignificant— have on them. Humans have by and large taken the oceans for granted; not considering how important a healthy ocean is to our survival. A popular mind-set is that the oceans are a bottomless supply of fish, natural resources, and an infinite waste dump. There are myriad reasons why the oceans should be saved and the most obvious one is marine life. With 71% of the Earth being covered by water, it is obvious that sea creatures are predominant form of life, making up 80% of the species of life on Earth. However, as important as marine life is, that is not the only reason why saving the oceans is crucial. The ocean floor provides natural resources such as, oil, natural gas, petroleum, minerals, medications, and ingredients for foods and products. The economic benefits of the oceans are huge and significant, as well. Fishing and fish products have provided employment to 38 million people and have generated about $124 billion in economic benefits. However, oceans are on the verge of crisis, marine life, natural resources, transportation, the economy, and important ingredients are at risk due to overfishing, pollution, and acidification. Thus, in this essay I will argue that, oceans are not impervious to human activity and threatening the health of the ocean threatens the health of humanity, since oceans key to our survival.
Did you know that more than 90 percent of all organisms that have ever lived on Earth are extinct? According to Pandey, the author of Humans Pushing Marine Life toward ‘Major Extinction’, nearly 10,000 species go extinct each year, and this rate is estimated to be 1,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate (1). Human beings are causing irreversible damage to the oceans and their wildlife, which is being led by two major reasons: Commercial fishing or over-fishing, which damaged the marine environment and caused a loss in the marine life diversity, and pollution, which is a primary way of the extinction causes that drastically modifies the marine life habitat. As a result of the commercial fishing and pollution, many of the marine species will start disappearing of the oceans. Briggs emphasizes that over-fishing “has induced population collapses in many species. So instead of having less than a hundred species at risk, as was the case some 30-40 years ago, there are now a thousand or more (10).”