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OCEAN ACIDIFICATION Assignment: Lab Questions Textbook Chapter: 15 OBJECTIVES: • • • Compare the affect of buffering systems on the pH of different types of water Measure the effect of pH changes on aquatic carbonate systems Model past, present, and future changes to ocean systems under multiple climate change scenarios INTRODUCTION Global climate change, or the general increase in global temperatures as a result of increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, is one of the most significant challenges facing our society today. Impacts of climate change include increasing droughts, increased severity of storms, global sea level rise, and ocean acidification. A recent report from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) attributes a significant amount of these observed changes in global climate and weather to anthropogenic inputs of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2), to the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels. This lab will focus on one important impact from these emissions: ocean acidification. pH Ocean acidification is the name given to the lowering of pH in the oceans as a result of the increased absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The pH scale is a measurement of how acidic or basic a solution is. This measurement is based on the number of specific ions, or charged atoms or molecules, in a solution. These ions are produced as a result of the dissociation of water molecules. Molecules of water (H20) are held together by hydrogen bonds. Occasionally, these bonds dissociate and water is split into hydroxide ions (OH-) and hydrogen ions (H+). The pH scale compares the proportion of these hydrogen (H+) or hydroxide (OH-) ions in a solution. In pure water, there is always one H+ ion for every OH- ion. These solutions are neutral, with a pH of 7.0. Acids have a pH lower than 7 and have extra H+ ions in the solution. Bases (alkaline solutions) have a pH higher than 7.0 and have extra OH- ions in the solution. H+ Concentration pH Value Example Relative to Pure Water 0 10 000 000 battery acid 1 1 000 000 concentrated sulfuric acid 2 100 000 lemon juice, vinegar 3 10 000 orange juice, soda 4 1 000 tomato juice, acid rain 5 100 black coffee, bananas 6 10 urine, milk 7 1 pure water 8 0.1 sea water, eggs 9 0.01 baking soda 10 0.001 Great Salt Lake 11 0.000 1 ammonia solution 12 0.000 01 soapy water 13 0.000 001 bleach, oven cleaner 14 0.000 000 1 liquid drain cleaner The pH scale is logarithmic and each one-unit change in the pH scale corresponds to a ten-fold change in hydrogen ion concentration. For example, a substance with a pH of 2 has 10 times A LABORATORY MANUAL TO ACCOMPANY SUSTAINABLE EARTH more H+ ions than a substance with a pH of 3 and 10,000 times more H+ ions than a substance with a pH of 6. Seawater Chemistry The increase of carbon output is affecting both our atmosphere and our oceans. Oceans are sometimes referred to as “carbon sinks” as they remove some of the carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. Once dissolved in the ocean some CO2 is absorbed by marine plants and phytoplankton to be used in photosynthesis. Some of the carbon dioxide combines with water molecules to produce carbonic acid (H2CO3), the same acid that is in carbonated beverages. When this acid dissolves in water it disassociates, or breaks apart into its constituent ions, H+ and HCO3 (bicarbonate) in the process below (Figure 1). Figure 1: This figure depicts the basic carbonate chemistry involved in ocean acidification; as carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed into seawater, carbonic acid (H2CO3) forms. Carbonic acid changes back and forth in equilibrium to bicarbonate (HCO3-) + H+ and carbonate (CO32-) + H+ , lowering the pH due to higher concentrations of H+. Then additional carbon dioxide can react with the carbonate. This additional reaction consumes the carbonate availability in the oceans. For further detail on this process watch the following California Academy of Science video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL7qJYKzcsk When CO2 dissolves in water it leads to decreased pH levels. The water becomes less alkaline and more acidic. Oceans have a natural buffering system that allows this system to resist changes in pH. Chemicals in seawater, including carbonates and other ions in the water, bond with hydrogen ions and help keep seawater pH in a fairly small range. This regulation of pH levels in the oceans is important for ocean organisms. The process of ocean acidification is the progressive decrease in the average pH of ocean waters caused by the excessive absorption of atmospheric CO2. Over the past few centuries, approximately 50% of the CO2 produced by humans has remained in the atmosphere, 20% has been taken up by terrestrial ecosystems such as tropical forests, and the oceans have absorbed approximately 30%. These numbers suggest that the effects of climate change would likely be much more severe if the oceans were not able to absorb CO2 and act as a global buffer. However, beyond a certain level of atmospheric CO2, the ocean can no longer act as a carbon sink without it having a negative impact on marine life. The process of acidification of the oceans is already negatively affecting ocean biogeochemistry. For the last 750,000 years the pH of the surface ocean has been relatively stable and slightly alkaline at 8.2 due to the carbonate buffer system. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, average surface pH readings in the oceans have decreased by about 0.1 OCEAN ACIDIFICATION pH units (remember that the units on a pH scale are logarithmic, so a 0.1 pH unit decrease is equivalent to about a 30% increase in H+ ions). Currently, Earth’s atmospheric CO2 concentration is about 395 parts per million volumes (ppmv). If current trends in anthropogenic CO2 production continues this value could easily double by the end of the century, resulting in a decrease in mean ocean pH of about 0.45 units from pre-industrial times. So what are the consequences of these changes in seawater chemistry on marine organisms? The short answer is that for the most part scientists don’t exactly know for certain, but most predict that ocean acidification will have overall detrimental effects on marine organisms and ecosystems, specifically on coral reefs. What scientists do know is that ocean acidification leads to a decrease in the availability of carbonate ions, which are a crucial element in the formation of the shells and skeletons of a number of calcifying marine organisms such as corals, calcareous marine plankton, mollusks, and shellfish. Under normal oceanic conditions, carbonate is considered to be in a saturated state. In this situation, calcifying organisms such as coral are able to utilize carbonate from seawater and deposit it in their skeletons by forming calcium carbonate (CaCO3). As the pH of the oceans becomes more acidic however, carbonate is converted in to other molecular forms of carbon (bicarbonate), which cannot be used by corals, and coral carbonate skeletons begin to dissolve instead (Figure 2). Figure 2. Images of pteropods, also known as the sea butterfly, exposed to low pH levels for extended periods of time. These shells are composed of a calcium carbonate compound known as aragonite, which is especially sensitive to pH changes. (Source: PMEL-NOAA Carbon Program) In this lab, you will explore the affect of the seawater buffer system on changes in pH and measure the impacts of changing pH on carbonate shells formed from marine organisms. Finally, you will use historical and current ocean pH data to predict and model future changes to the ocean pH system under future climate scenarios projected by the IPCC. A LABORATORY MANUAL TO ACCOMPANY SUSTAINABLE EARTH OCEAN ACIDIFICATION – Read the introduction to the Ocean Acidification Lab in the Laboratory Manual to Accompany Sustainable Earth, pages 83-85. Then, read “See What Coral Bleaching Looks Like Because of Global Warming” and watch the accompanying video, found here http://mashable.com/2016/08/15/coral-bleaching-video-australia/#TG1XatfKo8qU . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL7qJYKzcsk 1.) Why are oceans becoming more acidic? 2.) What is a “carbon sink”? Only half of carbon emissions stay in the atmosphere – where do the rest go? 3.) How is ocean acidification affecting corals, calcareous marine plankton, mollusks, and shellfish? 4.) In the coral bleaching video, what is the coral expelling when it expands and shrinks? Why does this matter? 5.) What are four causes of coral bleaching?
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Ocean Acidification Questions
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Why are oceans becoming more acidic?

The acidification of the ocean is caused by dissolved atmospheric carbon dioxide in seawater.
When it rains in the ocean, rainwater dissolves atmospheric carbon dioxide into the sea. Carbon
dioxide then ionizes in the water leading t...


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