Future Scenarios

Question 1

How do coral cores indicate significant changes in global CO2 and temps?

Answer 1

Coral cores have shown that histroically, prior to the industrial revolution the was little to no evidence of bleaching and ocean acidification.

Question 2

What is an indirect affects ocean acidification can have?

Answer 2

Collapse of oceanic food webs

Question 3

What are the factors between the atmosphere and ocean that drive weather patterns and climate?

Answer 3

-High and low pressure systems
-Isobars
-Trough
-Coldfronts
-La Nina- lots of rainfall, lower SST from uniterrupted tradewinds
-El nino- Dry average conditions from high SST in the middle of the pacific blocking trade winds

Question 4

What can increasing average global temperature affect?

Answer 4

-SST
-Atmosphere
-Rising sea levels
-More severe of weather
-Decreasing pH
-Loss of CACO3 organisms
-Climate
-CCD
-Ocean currents and fish migrations
-Carbonate balance

Question 5

What effect would RCP 8.5 have?

Answer 5

Due to continued trapped CO2 global temperatures will continue to increase causing increased SST. These increased temps will affect ocean currents, causing warm water to be cycled throughout the oceans and even warm waters at the north and south poles. Coral cover will reduce as corals bleach from temperature stress due to tempsoutside of the thermal threshold, causing reduced rugosity and thus reduced biodiversity. CaCO3 organisms will also be affected as ocean acidificaton occurs from the excess atm CO2 and their shells will break down causing a collapse in oceanic food webs.