Impacts of Climate Change: Ocean AcidificationIana Sahadzic, Katherine May, Bridgette Hamette, Erica Varga

CPSG101 Science & Global Change First Year Colloquium IIApril 16/23, 2019

Bibliography:1 https://www.climate.gov/news-features/featured-images/ocean-acidification-today-and-future2 https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/ocean-acidification3 http://jeb.biologists.org/content/214/15/25864 https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/ocean-acidification5 https://coastadapt.com.au/ocean-acidification-and-its-effects

IntroductionExcess CO2 released in the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean. As a result the pH of the water decreases, creating a more acidic environment. This negatively affects marine organisms and the ecosystem as a whole.

• Dissolved CO₂ reacts with H₂O in the water to create carbonic acid and bicarbonate ions.

• Carbonate ions are building blocks for shells which would previously be available for marine life to make shells.

• Increased acidity, this will affect different organisms differently

• Increased chances of shells being eaten or crushed from lack of sturdy shells. • Requires more energy to build shells and and not as much for vital processes like

reproduction. • Many of the fish we eat depend on shelled organisms as a food source. The food

chain will be in peril thereby and so will human consumption of sea life as a whole. • Tourism and economy: decreased tourism to coral reefs affecting the economy

(Left) Carbon dioxide dissolved in the water reacts chemically to increase the pH of the environment and affect marine organisms. 5

(below) Carbon dioxide dissolved in the water reacts chemically to increase the pH of the environment and affect marine organisms.4

Changes/ Future Projections

What is ocean acidification?

(Left) A strength test of a larval mussel shell demonstrates that the relationship between crush attacks by predators such as crabs and shell compression is linear. 3

(Above) Possible ocean pH levels in the year 2100 with and without human reduction of CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels1

(Left) The ongoing rise in levels of atmospheric CO2, seawater CO2, and decrease in seawater pH. 2

Effect on Humans