I’ve written a fair share of environmental posts, from deforestation to climate change and plastic pollution. But, in this blog post, I wanted to write about another environmental problem, one that is not so ‘well-known’ but is nevertheless very imminent in the world today: The Problem of Ocean Acidification.
What is ocean acidification? How might it impact global biodiversity?
Ocean acidification refers to the decline in the pH of the ocean, caused primarily by uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It can affect many aquatic organisms and negatively impact global biodiversity.
Since the industrial revolution, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has significantly increased. The ocean absorbs approximately 30-40% of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The introduction of carbon dioxide to seawater leads to the formation of carbonic acid (CO2+H2O–>H2CO3) which leads to an increase in the number of free hydrogen ions in the water (as carbonic acid forms bicarbonate and carbonate molecules), which causes an increase in the acidity of the ocean. As the acidity of the ocean increases, it can cause several negative consequences for many organisms. One of the most serious effects is the overall drop in the number of carbonate ions available (due to an increase in the amount of hydrogen ions in the ocean) which as a result, reduces the amount of calcium carbonate available in oceans. As the amount of calcium carbonate available decreases, organisms with a calcium carbonate skeleton (which includes many important organisms like corals, coccolithophores, snails, and crabs) have trouble maintaining, growing, and repairing their skeletons, which can threaten the existence of these crucial organisms. Even aquatic organisms that do not have calcium carbonate skeletons can face many negative consequences due to increased acidity, such as a drop in metabolic rate, drops in immune responses (hypercapnia), interference with sensory mechanisms, and interference with the construction of body parts like ear bones and balance organisms.
These changes caused by ocean acidification can negatively impact many organisms, threaten the existence of important species (extinction), disturb the marine food chain, and affect the ocean ecosystem as a whole. Since biodiversity is the number and variety of organisms in an ecosystem and is composed of all these interconnected factors in the ecosystem, it can be directly correlated and threatened by these changes happening because of ocean acidification. Geological history proves to us that biodiversity can be vulnerable, by the increased ocean acidity.
In summary, ocean acidification refers to the process in which the acidity of the ocean is being increased, which can affect the ecosystem of the ocean as a whole ( and harm many important aquatic organisms), and all these interconnected factors in the marine ecosystem can threaten the delicate weave of global biodiversity in the world.
How can you as an individual help tackle this problem? (What specifically can you do?)
Ocean acidification is primarily caused due to increasing levels of carbon dioxide on earth, due to human activities. In order to help tackle the problem of ocean acidification, you as an individual, should reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that you create (carbon footprint), and to do this, you could take many steps. One of the things that you could is to help plant trees and plants in your backyard and neighbourhood, which can help clean carbon dioxide pollution from the air. Another thing that you could do is to use, and encourage others to use the car less, and opt for other alternatives like walking, biking, carpooling, or the public transit, which can help reduce the carbon dioxide emissions that is exerted. Another step that you could take would be to reduce, reuse, and recycle, which can help reduce greenhouse emissions (like carbon dioxide) by reducing energy consumption and reducing waste that goes to landfills. Moreover, another step you could take would be to reduce your electrical consumption (by taking actions like remembering to unplug my devices when not in use), which can reduce energy consumption, and as a result reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Furthermore, another step that you could take would be to raise awareness of the huge and important situation of ocean acidification in your family, friends, and community members, to inspire them to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions that they make. Taking these steps will help reduce the carbon dioxide emissions that you make, and inspire others to do the same, which can help reduce carbon dioxide emissions in our world and help tackle the problem of ocean acidification.