3.2 - Ocean Acidification

Question 1

What Is Ocean Acidification

Answer 1

The sea is a carbon sink which makes it less alkaline, fossil fuels make this process more intense.

Question 2

Bleaching

Answer 2

Carbonic acid reacts with carbonate ions leaving bicarbonate ions, meaning more energy is neededto build shells making them more fragile and easier to dissolve.

Question 3

Can It Be Natural?

Answer 3

In deeper oceans, less photosynthesis, CO2 builds up, and it builds up near volcanic vents making bleaching more likely.

Question 4

It Could Cross A Threshold

Answer 4

When stress is high, all resilience is lost

Question 5

French Polynesia

Answer 5

Series of coral reefs around an atoll
Parite Corals, most sensitive in the world
Protected by National Science Foundation

Question 6

Effects Of Increased Photoplankton On Ocean Acidification

Answer 6

Increased oceanic sequestration into phytoplankton, means lower carbon concentration in water, more alkaline and therefore less bleaching.

Question 7

Effects Of Being Near A Volcanic Vent On Ocean Acidification

Answer 7

Increased anthropogenic carbon and increased CO2 from vents, meaning increased carbon concentration, more bleaching and less stable coral.

Question 8

Deep Oceanic Water

Answer 8

Anthropogenic CO2, 10-15% more prevalent in deeper waters. Thermohaline circulation means deep water rsises to the top, meaning increased carobn will diffuse into surface waters causing a higher carbon concentration across the whole ocean.