The document provides information about ocean acidification from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. It defines ocean acidification as decreased pH in the oceans caused by absorbing increased CO2 from the atmosphere. This decreases carbonate ions and can harm calcifying organisms by making it difficult to build shells. Lower pH also impacts fish behaviors and food webs. If emissions continue rising, ocean pH could decrease to levels not seen in over 20 million years by 2100, threatening organisms, ecosystems, and communities that rely on ocean resources. More monitoring is needed to understand impacts.
The document provides information about ocean acidification from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. It defines ocean acidification as decreased pH in the oceans caused by absorbing increased CO2 from the atmosphere. This decreases carbonate ions and can harm calcifying organisms by making it difficult to build shells. Lower pH also impacts fish behaviors and food webs. If emissions continue rising, ocean pH could decrease to levels not seen in over 20 million years by 2100, threatening organisms, ecosystems, and communities that rely on ocean resources. More monitoring is needed to understand impacts.
The document provides information about ocean acidification from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. It defines ocean acidification as decreased pH in the oceans caused by absorbing increased CO2 from the atmosphere. This decreases carbonate ions and can harm calcifying organisms by making it difficult to build shells. Lower pH also impacts fish behaviors and food webs. If emissions continue rising, ocean pH could decrease to levels not seen in over 20 million years by 2100, threatening organisms, ecosystems, and communities that rely on ocean resources. More monitoring is needed to understand impacts.
The document provides information about ocean acidification from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. It defines ocean acidification as decreased pH in the oceans caused by absorbing increased CO2 from the atmosphere. This decreases carbonate ions and can harm calcifying organisms by making it difficult to build shells. Lower pH also impacts fish behaviors and food webs. If emissions continue rising, ocean pH could decrease to levels not seen in over 20 million years by 2100, threatening organisms, ecosystems, and communities that rely on ocean resources. More monitoring is needed to understand impacts.
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Ocean
Acidification Education Curriculum Middle School Program
MAINE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Protecting Maine’s Air, Land and Water Reminder: pH scale • The pH scale measures how acidic or basic a substance is. • The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14. – A pH of 7 is neutral. – A pH less than 7 is acidic. – A pH greater than 7 is basic.
MAINE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION www.maine.gov/dep
(Run Time ~ 4:26)
A Climate Calamity in The Gulf of Maine Part 2:
Acid in the Gulf
MAINE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION www.maine.gov/dep
What is the difference between pH and acidity? • pH is the scale on which acidity is measured, and so it describes how much acid is in a liquid. • The amount of hydrogen ions in a liquid determines how acidic the liquid is. What is Ocean Acidification? • International experts define ocean acidification (OA) as a decrease in ocean pH over decades or more that is caused primarily by uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere. • Because human activities are releasing CO2 into the atmosphere very quickly, the ocean is taking up CO2 faster today than it has in the past. • This is causing global ocean chemistry to change more quickly than ocean systems can handle. Ocean Acidification Trends • Ocean acidification, related to the uptake of CO2 at the ocean surface, causes a relatively slow, long-term increase in the acidity of the ocean, corresponding to a decrease in pH. • Since the Industrial Revolution, the global average pH of the surface ocean has decreased by 0.11, which corresponds to approximately a 30% increase in the hydrogen ion concentration. Why be concerned with a small change in pH? • Many organisms are very sensitive to seemingly small changes in pH. • Many marine organisms are very sensitive to either direct or indirect effects of the change in acidity (or H+ concentration) in the marine environment. • Fundamental physiological processes such as respiration, calcification (shell/skeleton building), photosynthesis, and reproduction respond to the magnitude of changes in CO2 concentrations in seawater. Ocean Acidification Chemistry • As carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolves into seawater it creates carbonic acid. • Through a series of chemical reactions, carbonic acid releases hydrogen ions (H+), which decreases seawater pH, and decreases the concentration of carbonate ions (CO32-), which provide chemical building blocks for marine organisms’ shells and skeletons. Ocean Absorption of CO2 • The ocean absorbs about a quarter of the CO2 we release into the atmosphere every year, so as atmospheric CO2 levels increase, so do the levels in the ocean. • Initially, many scientists focused on the benefits of the ocean removing this greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. However, decades of ocean observations now show that there is also a downside — the CO2 absorbed by the ocean is changing the chemistry of the seawater. Some Issues with lower pH • Calcium carbonate minerals are the building blocks for the skeletons and shells of many marine organisms. • In areas where most life now congregates in the ocean, the seawater is supersaturated with respect to calcium carbonate minerals. This means there are abundant building blocks for calcifying organisms to build their skeletons and shells. • However, continued ocean acidification is causing many parts of the ocean to become under-saturated with these minerals, which is likely to affect the ability of some organisms to produce and maintain their shells. Some Issues with lower pH • Carbonate ions are an important building block of structures such as sea shells and coral skeletons. – Decreases in carbonate ions can make building and maintaining shells and other calcium carbonate structures difficult for calcifying organisms such as oysters, clams, sea urchins, shallow water corals, deep sea corals, and calcareous plankton. • These changes in ocean chemistry can affect the behavior of non- calcifying organisms as well. – Certain fish's ability to detect predators is decreased in more acidic waters. When these organisms are at risk, the entire food web may also be at risk. Food Web - Fish • The ability of certain fish, like pollock, to detect predators is decreased in more acidic waters. Recent studies have shown that decreased pH levels also affect the ability of larval clownfish to locate suitable habitat. • When subjected to lower pH levels, the larval clownfish lost their chemosensory ability to distinguish between their favored and protective anemone habitat among the reefs and unfavorable habitats like mangroves. • Additionally, greater acidity impairs their ability to distinguish between the "smell" of their own species and that of predators. These two factors create an increased risk of predation. • When these organisms are at risk, the entire food web may also be at risk. Is there any advantage to higher CO2 levels in our oceans? • While some species will be harmed by ocean acidification, photosynthetic algae and seagrasses may benefit from higher CO2 conditions in the ocean, as they require CO2 to live just like plants on land. Our Oceans’ Futures • 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 be nearly 150% more acidic, resulting in a pH that the oceans haven’t experienced for more than 20 million years. • Ocean acidification is currently affecting the entire world’s oceans, including coastal estuaries and waterways. • Today, more than a billion people worldwide rely on food from the ocean as their primary source of protein. – Approximately 20% of the world’s population derives at least 1/5 of its animal protein intake from fish. – Many jobs and economies in the U.S. and around the world depend on the fish and shellfish that live in the ocean. What is Next? • Because sustained efforts to monitor ocean acidification worldwide are only beginning, it is currently impossible to predict exactly how ocean acidification impacts will cascade throughout the marine food chain and affect the overall structure of marine ecosystems. • With the pace of ocean acidification accelerating, scientists, resource managers, and policymakers recognize the urgent need to strengthen the science as a basis for sound decision making and action. www.maine.gov/dep
Bibliografía Sobre Investigaciones Marinas, Oceanográficas, Geológicas y Atmosféricas en El Parque Nacional Isla Del Coco y Aguas Adyacentes, Pacífico de Costa Rica Autor Jorge Cortés