3.3 vocab

How is rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere affecting the oceans pH?

Because of human-driven increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, there is more CO2 dissolving into the ocean. The ocean's average pH is now around 8.1 , which is basic (or alkaline), but as the ocean continues to absorb more CO2, the pH decreases and the ocean becomes more acidic

How is Coral affected by a change in climate?

Climate change leads to: A warming ocean: causes thermal stress that contributes to coral bleaching and infectious disease. Sea level rise: may lead to increases in sedimentation for reefs located near land-based sources of sediment. Sedimentation runoff can lead to the smothering of coral.

How are organisms who use calcium carbonate for their structures affected by ocean acidification?

Many marine organisms that produce calcium carbonate shells or skeletons are negatively impacted by increasing CO2levels and decreasing pH in seawater. For example, increasing ocean acidification has been shown to significantly reduce the ability of reef-building corals to produce their skeletons

ocean acidification

Ocean acidification refers to a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period of time, caused primarily by uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.

alkaline

Scientists use pH to describe how acidic a substance is on a scale of 0 to 14. By definition, a substance is alkaline if it has a pH of over 7.

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Europe and the United States, in the period from between 1760 to 1820 and 1840

pH

a figure expressing the acidity or alkalinity of a solution on a logarithmic scale on which 7 is neutral, lower values are more acid and higher values more alkaline. The pH is equal to −log10 c, where c is the hydrogen ion concentration in moles per liter.

fossil fuel

a natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms.

calcified

hardened by deposition of or conversion into calcium carbonate or another insoluble calcium compound.

acidic

having the properties of an acid, or containing acid; having a pH below 7.