Chico State - Oceanography Lab 11

Lab 11
Ocean acidification
Based on information from NOAA: https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-
coasts/ocean-acidification
Introduction
Coral Reef. Courtesy: Bruno de Gusti, WikiCommons.

In the previous lectures, you learned that oceans currently behave as carbon sinks because they
absorb approximately 25-30% of the carbon dioxide put into the atmosphere by human
activities. That's a good thing, right? Not necessarily so, as scientists are now discovering.
Oceanographers and marine biologists are now seeing a relationship between changes in ocean
pH and carbon dioxide dissolved in sea water. Ocean acidity, as measured by pH, has increased
by 30% since the industrial revolution and scientists predict pH will continue to change as
increasing amounts of carbon dioxide are absorbed by oceans. Because the chemistry of the
oceans is important to life, subtle changes in that chemistry may have significant effects on the
health of individual species and on entire ecosystems. Corals and other shell-builders such as
oysters, lobsters and pteropods may be at risk as ocean ph chemistry becomes more acidic.
In the 200-plus years since the industrial revolution began, the concentration of carbon dioxide
(CO2) in the atmosphere has increased due to human actions. During this time, the pH of
surface ocean waters has fallen by 0.1 pH units. This might not sound like much, but the pH
scale is logarithmic, so this change represents approximately a 30 percent increase in acidity.
The ocean absorbs about 30% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) that is released in the atmosphere. As
levels of atmospheric CO2 increase from human activity such as burning fossil fuels (e.g., car
emissions) and changing land use (e.g., deforestation), the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed
by the ocean also increases. When CO2 is absorbed by seawater, a series of chemical reactions
occur resulting in the increased concentration of hydrogen ions. This process has far reaching
implications for the ocean and the creatures that live there.
The pH scales.
The pH scale runs from 0 to 14, with 7 being a neutral pH. Anything higher than 7 is basic (or
alkaline) and anything lower than 7 is acidic. The pH scale is an inverse of hydrogen ion
concentration, so more hydrogen ions translate to higher acidity and a lower pH.
Carbon dioxide and seawater

Carbon dioxide, which is naturally in the atmosphere, dissolves into seawater. Water and
carbon dioxide combine to form carbonic acid (H2CO3), a weak acid that breaks (or
“dissociates”) into hydrogen ions (H+) and bicarbonate ions (HCO3-).
Because of human-driven increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, there is more
CO2 dissolving into the ocean. The ocean’s average pH is now around 8.1, which is basic (or
alkaline), but as the ocean continues to absorb more CO2, the pH decreases, and the ocean
becomes more acidic.
Impacts of ocean acidification on shell builders
Ocean acidification is already impacting many ocean species, especially organisms like oysters
and corals that make hard shells and skeletons by combining calcium and carbonate from
seawater. However, as ocean acidification increases, available carbonate ions (CO32-) bond
with excess hydrogen, resulting in fewer carbonate ions available for calcifying organisms to
build and maintain their shells, skeletons, and other calcium carbonate structures. If the pH
gets too low, shells and skeletons can even begin to dissolve.
The pteropod, or "sea butterfly," is a tiny sea snail about the size of a small pea. Pteropods are
an important part of many food webs and eaten by organisms ranging in size from tiny krill to
whales. When pteropod shells were placed in sea water with pH and carbonate levels projected
for the year 2100, the shells slowly dissolved after 45 days. Researchers have already
discovered severe levels of pteropod shell dissolution in the Southern Ocean, which encircles
Antarctica.
Ocean acidification impacts on fish and seaweeds.

Changes in ocean chemistry can affect the behavior of non-calcifying organisms as well. The
ability of some fish, like clownfish, to detect predators is decreased in more acidic waters.
Studies have shown that decreased pH levels also affect the ability of clown fish larvae to locate
suitable habitat. When these organisms are at risk, the entire food web may also be at risk.
While some species will be harmed by ocean acidification, algae and seagrasses may benefit
from higher CO2 conditions in the ocean, as they require CO2 for photosynthesis just like plants
on land. There are some ongoing studies examining if growing seaweed can help slow ocean
acidification.
Our changing ocean

Estimates of future carbon dioxide levels, based on business-as-usual emission scenarios,
indicate that by the end of this century the surface waters of the ocean could have a pH around
7.8 The last time the ocean pH was this low was during the middle Miocene, 14-17 million years
ago. The Earth was several degrees warmer and a major extinction event was occurring.
Ocean acidification is currently affecting the entire ocean, including coastal estuaries and
waterways. Billions of people worldwide rely on food from the ocean as their primary source of
protein. Many jobs and economies in the U.S. and around the world depend on the fish and
shellfish that live in the ocean.
Ocean acidification in upwelling regions
Change of pH in the through diffusion of atmospheric CO2 into the ocean is a global process.
However, coastal areas might be even more affected as these areas are experience periodic
natural ocean acidification already.
Some coastal areas experience upwelling. As we learned in the past lectures, the deep ocean is
rich in nutrients, but also CO2. When such deep water reaches the surface through a natural
upwelling process, the surface water becomes more nutrient rich but also acidic. If global ocean
acidification lowers the pH of the surface waters already, then the contribution of upwelling
might be even more severe.
Tasks
1. Please go to https://datalab.marine.rutgers.edu/explorations/chemistry/activity4.php?
level=application
2. Answer the following questions:
a) Which parameters are shown on the 3 graphs.
- pH and pCO2
b) For which time period are the data shown?

- From October to September
c) What are the minimum and maximum pCO2 concentrations shown?

- The minimum pCO2 is 150 and the maximum is 800.
d) During which time of the year is pCO2 in the surface ocean relatively stable?
- From October to April
e) During which time of the year is the pH of the surface ocean relatively stable?
- From October to May
f) Is there a relationship/correlation between pCO2 and pH? If so, please describe

how the pH change with respect of pCO2.
- Inverse relationship between pCO2 and pH. An increase in pCO2 causes a decrease in
pH.
g) The answer you just gave are related to station CE02SHSM. Please choose now
from the menu below the graph station CE07SHSM. Are the answers you provided
for station CE02SHSM also correct for this station?
- The results in CE07SHSM are quite same with CE02SHSM but the pCO2 of CE07SHSM
fluctuated from October to April
h) Now choose station GS01SUMO. Do the data shown vary from the data shown for
the other two stations?
- The result of station GS01SUMO varies less more than two other previous station and
the concentration is from November to April.
i) Do you see a relationship between pCO2 and pH for station GS01SUMO and how
would you describe this relationship?
- pH is constant through the time shown while the pCO2 fluctuated until Jan and
significant decrease in April. So, there are no relationship in them.
j) If you compare the range between minimum and maximum concentrations of

pCO2 for GS01SUMO with the other two stations, what can you say about the
range?
- The range is smaller than two other stations to zoom in both pCO2 (around 300) and pH
(7-8).
k) Do you think that the smaller pCO2 range could affect a clearer trend between
pCO2 and pH for station GS01SUMO.
- Yes, it would be clearer.
3. Now go to https://datalab.marine.rutgers.edu/explorations/2019/acidification.php?
level=exploration
4. Please click on the “NEXT” button under the pH graph on this page until all panels are
displayed and all areas of interest are shaded. (I think you need to click the “next”
button five times.)
a) Which parameters are plotted?

- pH, pCO2, temperature, Northward wind
b) If you think of upwelling:
 Would the surface ocean be colder during upwelling?

Yes, the surface ocean would be colder during upwelling.
 Would the surface ocean have a higher pCO2 during times of upwelling?
Yes, it would have a higher pCO2.
 Would the pH be lower during times of upwelling?

Yes, the pH would be lower.
c) The wind panel is shown as Northward wind speed. Positive numbers indicate the wind
is blowing to the north (numbers above 0). Negative numbers mean that the wind is
blowing to the south. During which periods is the wind blowing to the south.
Please write down the exact dates (moving the curser over the points will allow you to
see the dates in the upper right corner of the graph)
- 2017/5/25/ - 2017/5/27 at 14:00

- 2017/5/28 at 3:00 to 2017/5/28 at 11:00
- 2017/5/29 at 6:00 to 2017/5/31
- 2017/6/3 at 3:00 to 2017/6/7 at 10:00
- 2017/6/8 at 21:00
- 2017/6/11 at 9:00 to 2017/6/13 at 19:00
- 2017/6/17 at 11:00 to 2017/6/18 at 3:00
- 2017/6/19 at 2:00 to 2017/6/25 at 7:00
d) Given the information from c) and looking at the graphs, when is the ocean cooler
when the wind blows from North to South or from South to North?
- From North to South, the ocean gets cooler.
e) If you look at the period between 06/03 and 06/07. The wind blows from South to
North. Does pCO2 directly change or is there a lag period?
- The pCO2 is a lag period when the wind blows from South to North
f) Is there another time period shown on the graph, where the wind blows from South
to North and pCO2 has a lag period?
- No, there is not.
g) What happens with the pH during this time?

- The pH fluctuated but remain constantly in trend during this time.
h) If you now think about shellfish, which time period(s) would be challenging for them
to live as Shellfish needs carbonate ions to build their shells?
- From May 25 to Jun 22 because there is the high pH and low pCO2.

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Lab 11

Coral Reef. Courtesy: Bruno de Gusti, WikiCommons.

Carbon dioxide and seawater

Ocean acidification impacts on fish and seaweeds.

Our changing ocean

b) For which time period are the data shown?

c) What are the minimum and maximum pCO2 concentrations shown?

f) Is there a relationship/correlation between pCO2 and pH? If so, please describe

j) If you compare the range between minimum and maximum concentrations of

a) Which parameters are plotted?

 Would the surface ocean be colder during upwelling?

 Would the pH be lower during times of upwelling?

- 2017/5/25/ - 2017/5/27 at 14:00

g) What happens with the pH during this time?

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