Ocean Acidification And Its Effect On The Environment

The Earth is a very miniscule piece in a much grander puzzle called the universe. Within that tiny rock in space are complicated systems that help to sustain life. The atmosphere surrounding us is a mixture of many different components. It is composed of roughly 78% nitrogen, about 21% oxygen, and about 1% other, which includes carbon, the most fundamental element on Earth (Hopkins 2010). Carbon is present in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (Hopkins 2010). Carbon dioxide may have a small presence in the earth s atmosphere but it plays an important role in the processes within the ocean, having a huge influence over the chemistry of seawater carbonate and its equilibrium process (Hopkins 2010). One way it impacts the ocean is via a process called ocean acidification. Carbon dioxide is a compound that can be found in nature, but the elevated carbon dioxide levels caused by humans can have a lot of unintended consequences, particularly to the seawater carbonate chemistry (Hopkins 2010) . Ocean acidification can be explained by a series of simple chemical reactions (Doney et al. 2008): CO2 + H2O → H2CO3 → H+ + HCO3-. The carbon dioxide gases in the atmosphere are soluble, combining with the seawater and reacting to form H2CO3, which is the chemical formula for carbonic acid, an inorganic compound (Doney et al. 2008). Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is one of the most common chemical compounds found in biogenous sediment in the ocean (Thurman and Trujillo 2008). The biogenousShow MoreRelatedOcean Acidification And Its Effects On The Environment1429 Words   |  6 PagesOur Oceans are a vital bloodline carrying humans, water, and different types of animals and plants. 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