Ocean Acidification - And Why The Denialists Just Don't Want To Talk About It

[hatrack]

Most people know that the release of carbon dioxide into the air from human sources has contributed to rising global temperatures and massive increases in the rate of melting of the ice at the poles and on Greenland. One of the major consequences they may not know about is the acidification of the oceans. The chemistry is quite straightforward. It's the same process that occurs when bottled water is carbonated. Most of the carbon dioxide simply dissolves in the water. But some of it reacts with the water to form carbonic acid. And, that's what's happening in the world's oceans as humans release more and more carbon dioxide into the air.

Climate change deniers love to dispute climate modeling, to talk about short-term weather phenomena, and to pick on minor citation errors in official reports. But, they don't like to talk about ocean acidification for three interrelated reasons. First, humans have indisputably been dumping exponentially increasing amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from the beginning of the industrial revolution, primarily through the burning of fossil fuels. Second, the oceans have absorbed about one-third of this carbon dioxide which then forms carbonic acid. This reduces the pH of the water in an acidic direction. Third, scientists have documented through direct observation the changes in ocean species, both large and microscopic, that have resulted from this increased acidity.

What the scientists are finding is troubling. First, the entire food chain of the ocean could be short-circuited. Second, ocean acidification in combination with other human impacts on the ocean could result in mass extinctions. Third, no one knows how such changes might affect life on land which is by no means isolated from the ocean.

Among those who accept the science of climate change, there are some who believe we can engineer our way out of the problem. One proposal calls for putting small reflective particles into the atmosphere to block a portion of the sunlight falling on the earth. But a recent study revealed that this would have little or no effect on the continuing acidification of the oceans. Even though 1) the mechanism for ocean acidification is well-established, 2) the source of the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and consequently in the ocean is traceable to man-made causes, and 3) the effects are already being observed--they are no mere projections--the climate change deniers will no doubt tell us that ocean acidification is nothing to worry about. Of course, we must remember that they are in the pay of or under the influence of propaganda put out by the fossil fuel interests, interests that spend millions on disinformation and zero on ocean research.

EDIT

http://resourceinsights.blogspot.com/2010/03/ocean-acidification-why-climate-change.html

[drm604]

1. This is definitely something that needs to be talked about more.

It's very simple and straightforward and difficult for the denialists to frame as innocuous or not caused by humans. As the article says, this is why they don't want to talk about it.

We need to make them talk about. Every time someone starts talking about "climate alarmism" or "it's caused by volcanoes", or "it's not caused by humans" or whatever, change the subject. Ask them about ocean acidification. Ask them what happens if shellfish can no longer make shells. Ask them what happens if the ocean's food chain is destroyed. Ask them what happens if the algae, which supply 70% to 80% of the oxygen we breathe, stop supplying that oxygen?

[opihimoimoi]

2. Its a sorry state of affairs that WHO weas murdered, who fucked who, and who is missing

is more promoted than this acid shit....

Perhaps its because most peeps have little understanding of basic science and facts....

[arachadillo]

3. Ocean Adicificaion

Starting with a definition, according to http://www.epoca-project.eu/">European Project on Ocean Acidification

"Ocean acidification refers to the process of lowering the oceans’ pH (that is, increasing the concentration of hydrogen ions) by dissolving additional carbon dioxide in seawater from the atmosphere. The word "acidification" refers to lowering pH from any starting point to any end point on the pH scale."

Ongoing research by the http://www.ocean-acidification.net/">Ocean Acidification Network has been summarized as:
"Back in 2004 the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission held the ground breaking international symposium The Ocean in a High-CO2 World that brought ocean acidification as an important anthropogenic CO2 issue to the forefront of research."

The 2008 meeting emphasized,
"that marine scientists of all disciplines must convince the climate change negotiators to take ocean acidification seriously"

The Network states on its home page,
"Field studies suggest that impacts of acidification on some major marine calcifiers may already be detectable, and naturally high-CO2 marine environments exhibit major shifts in marine ecosystems following trends expected from laboratory experiments. Yet the full impact of ocean acidification and how these impacts may propogate through marine ecosystems and affect fisheries remains largely unknown."

At the Ocean Acidification discussion during Copenhagen
http://cop15.meta-fusion.com/play.php?id_kongresssession=2374
the scientists discussed a GHG upper limit of 450ppm as the ocean acidification tipping point. As with changes in atmospheric temperatures, the scientists also predict greater acidification at the poles, decreasing in magnitude as one moves to equatorial oceans.

NOAAs PMEL Ocean Acidification site also contains useful information, including some videos. Although the information appears to be more dated than the information contained at the EPOCA site.

[nashville_brook]

4. bookmarking -- great resources!

[bloom]

5. 450 as the ocean acidification tipping point?

It seems more likely that there would be little left - besides possibly jellyfish