Many people have become too focused on the effects that carbon dioxide emissions have on global warming, and have forgotten the many other negative consequences of this pollutant. The massive amounts of carbon dioxide humans put into the atmosphere each year have dire effects on human health. These carbon emissions also have a large impact on the world’s oceans – affecting ocean acidity and having drastic consequences for marine life.
Carbon Emissions Lead to Ocean Acidification
The ocean is important to the carbon cycle and has absorbed about half of the carbon emissions created by humans since the Industrial Revolution. This absorbed carbon dioxide affects ocean chemistry, which in turn affects marine life. As Marah Hardt and Carl Safina describe in the June 24, 2008 Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media article “Covering Ocean Acidification: Chemistry and Considerations” the ocean has a pH of 8.06, making it slightly alkaline. However, carbon dioxide [CO2] reacts with seawater [H2O] to create carbonic acid [H2CO3]. This reaction releases hydrogen ions [H+] which makes the ocean more acidic. The acidity of a solution is measured using the pH scale, which measures the amount of hydrogen ions [H+] in a solution.
How Carbon Emissions Affect Marine Life
Hardt and Safina go on to explain how carbon dioxide emissions affect marine life that relies on calcium carbonate to live. These creatures include corals, mollusks, calcareous algae, and echinoderms such as sea stars and sea urchins. These creatures take up carbonate from the ocean to form calcium carbonate, the building block these creatures use to form their skeletons. However, as people create more carbon emissions and more carbon dioxide enters the ocean, there is less carbonate to go around. This is because of the hydrogen ions released when carbon dioxide mixes with seawater. The hydrogen ions [H+] bind to carbonate [CO32-] to form bicarbonate [HCO3-]. This results in less carbonate for creatures such as corals to use, thus reducing the growth of corals and other marine life. In turn this has a profound effect on the marine food web.
Further Effects of Carbon Dioxide Emissions on Corals
Carbon emissions affect the ability of corals to grow and maintain their structures. Excessive carbon dioxide is also affecting the symbiotic relationship corals have with algae, a relationship necessary for corals to survive. As Michael Perry describes in the October 28, 2008 Reuters article “Rising CO2 accelerates coral bleaching: study”, increased carbon emissions are destroying coral reefs. He notes an Australian study that shows coralline algae to be extremely sensitive to increased carbon dioxide levels. Increased carbon dioxide leads to coral bleaching, which means algae are leaving their corals, resulting in coral death.
Importance of Reducing Carbon Dioxide for Ocean Health
It is important to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Increased levels of carbon do not only affect shelled animals. All marine life will have to cope with ocean acidification, and not all species will adjust to new acidity levels easily. Coral reefs are biodiverse areas, vital to the survival of many species. Losing these ecosystems could have a huge effect on fisheries and thus on the human diet. It’s possible to reduce carbon emissions in daily life by conserving energy, reducing waste, and buying carbon offsets.
Megan Jungwi - Megan Jungwi started her freelance writing career in March 2009. Although new to online writing Megan has long been passionate about the ...
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