How does the escalating phenomenon of ocean acidification pose a critical and immediate challenge to marine ecosystems, and what are the anticipated consequences, spanning ecological aspects, of continual acidification trends in the next several decades?
Introduction:
Ocean acidification has become a detrimental issue, posing a critical and immediate challenge to marine ecosystems. Regardless, this particular issue continues to be dismissed by the media, with minimal debates and discussions among individuals attempting to solve this catastrophe. Ocean acidification is commonly expressed as the increase in seawater acidity or lowering of seawater pH due to the abolition of elevated atmospheric CO2. Ken Caldeira and Michael Wickett first coined the term “ocean acidification” in 1999; however, it only became a prominent issue when biological studies were conducted in 2003 due to the rapid shift in ocean pH. As previously stated, this matter is disregarded since it provides atmospheric benefits, offering less anthropogenic CO2 to warm the planet. The aforementioned indicates a lack of adequate studies conducted on a situation like this; nevertheless, throughout the past few years, oceanographers discovered that this phenomenon has come at the expense of impacting the ocean's chemistry. Therefore, after reaching a standard basis, several marine scientists and organizations, specifically the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, have collaborated and initiated discussions to shed light on and anticipate several consequences of a vital issue. Considering the various research types, aquatic acidification has progressed, with scientists discovering potential causes, solutions, and impacts if the problem continues. This research paper aims to emphasize the escalating phenomenon of ocean acidification since it is an urgent problem for marine ecosystems, causing several ecological consequences. Given that this matter is highly restricted, several limitations were encountered, such as few resources and only some confirmed results. Those few resources were credible; they included all the essential information needed to formulate a comprehensive conclusion as they were retrieved from legitimate organizations that underwent long and extensive research. Ultimately, as the situation worsens, affecting marine ecosystems and society, more individuals are learning and understanding their carbon footprint's impact on the environment, leading to organizations spending money to develop the necessary tools to combat this issue and specializing in it before it’s too late. Therefore, the fundamental question we now need to address is how the escalating phenomenon of ocean acidification poses a critical and immediate challenge to marine ecosystems and what the anticipated consequences, spanning ecological aspects, of continual acidification trends are in the next several decades.
Literature Review:
Ocean acidification has begun to be acknowledged and assessed as an imminent threat to marine ecosystems, including other ecological aspects, due to its numerous risks in various ways. Geologists typically conduct aquatic acidification research by delving into Earth's history when ocean carbon dioxide and temperature were comparable to today's environment. Conversely, other scientists typically conduct fieldwork and controlled laboratory experiments. Despite the fact that these are distinct investigation techniques, this literature review attempts to acquire information and understand the escalating phenomenon. This occurrence has been deemed a catastrophic matter, so this literature review considers the severe and immediate hazards to marine ecosystems and anticipates the ecological consequences of evolving acidification trends in the following decades.
Potential Mechanisms
As stated earlier, aquatic acidification can be described as increasing seawater acidity or lowering seawater pH due to the dissolution of elevated atmospheric CO2. In order to eradicate the issue, it is crucial to comprehend its severity and causes. Human activity, including deforestation, agriculture, fossil fuel combustion, and the modification of the natural environment (land-use practices), is proven to be primarily responsible for the increase of anthropogenic gases, with present-day atmospheric CO2 found to be 50% higher than pre-industrial concentrations. Unfortunately, based on multiple lines of observations, the ocean takes up approximately only a quarter of the total atmospheric CO2 emissions, which emphasizes the severity of the spontaneous shift in the ocean's pH equilibrium. Hence, to avoid dismissing such a significant crisis, scientists began to conduct investigations by continuously monitoring seawater CO2 and chemistry in estuarine, coastal, and surface open-ocean waters by building extensive observational systems.
Immediate Challenges
With the minimal investigations conducted, there have been no confirmed results or solutions to resolve such a crisis; therefore, with anthropogenic carbon increasing, primarily due to human activities, the ocean's pH continues to worsen and fluctuate, causing immediate challenges to marine life. Several aspects of marine life cannot withstand these extreme changes. This results in suffering and leads to extinctions, as seen 55 million years ago, regarding a similar catastrophe, rendering mass extinctions in some species, even in deep-sea invertebrates. Nevertheless, although no generalizations can be made, various organisms cannot reproduce and repair themselves as they're not carrying out the necessary processes to sustain their life, leading to extinction and impacting the ecological pyramid. The environmental pyramid's impacts have implications for human society, explicitly concerning fishery, marine conservation, and effects on ocean-reliant communities. Ultimately, ocean acidification contributes negatively to biological systems, leaving individuals anticipating the consequences of their actions.
Anticipated Ecological Consequences
As the world's population continues to increase, 9 billion estimated in 2050, the demand for energy, food, medicines, and habitats continues to grow. Overpopulation is one of the critical cases that will contribute to the increase of atmospheric CO2 and the exacerbation of other aspects related to ocean acidification. Such facets include improved photosynthesis (due to the release of terrestrial organic matter and nutrients from increased land use), increased organic matter and nutrients in wastewater, acid rain, etc. Although nothing has been established yet, due to minimal and restricted analysis and tools, individuals should contemplate the anticipated ecological consequences associated with the matter to prevent its worsening, as it might lead to fatal hazards. Businesses and coastal communities started viewing ocean acidification as a present-day concern in the mid-2000s with its impact on the Pacific oyster industry. The world is constantly adapting to the multiple changes around it, whether ocean acidification or other transitions such as climate change; therefore, it is challenging to attribute these shifts to one long-term driver. Multidisciplinary studies and researchers are exploring interventions that decrease the ocean’s vulnerability to acidification. These interventions work by reducing the exposure to acidification or increasing the water’s adaptive capacity, additionally co-benefitting marine systems and resources management.
Research Question and Hypothesis:
This research paper provides a comprehensive overview of ocean acidification, its mechanisms, environmental implications, and potential risks to marine ecosystems. I hypothesize that the increase in the ocean’s acidification will worsen as long as society proceeds in its current manner.
Objectives:
The benefits of this research include the ability to reverse the effects of society's actions while also identifying the mechanisms causing the predicted consequences of such a catastrophic matter on aquatic ecosystems. In other words, by assessing these consequences, it is possible to maintain a stable ocean and environment with healthy reproducing organisms while minimizing societal economic harm. By publishing this research to the public, people will spread awareness about ocean acidification and hence take active measures to combat the problem by reducing their carbon footprints and researching healthy living modalities.
Methodology:
Most of the information in this report has been compiled through qualitative and quantitative data gathered from varying studies and statistics to formulate this research paper, which aims to discuss environmental concerns. More specifically, this research report discusses how the escalating phenomenon of ocean acidification poses a critical and immediate challenge to marine ecosystems and the anticipated consequences, spanning ecological aspects, of continual acidification trends in the next several decades. The analysis of secondary data forms the foundation of this research report. In my literature review, I concentrated on three primary concepts: the mechanisms of ocean acidification, its immediate challenges, and its anticipated ecological consequences. The data was obtained from reputable and reliable internet sources, scrutinized closely, and their material assessed, particularly Biogeosciences, Annual Reviews, the National Library of Medicine, etc. Once I acquired the source material and verified the author’s credentials and credibility, I ensured the publication date fell within the last 20 years to confirm the relevance and accuracy of the information provided. I chose this method because it is adequate for my issue and gives me in-depth knowledge of all the factors related to aquatic acidification. Finding common ground between the various aspects of each article during my research was challenging. Nevertheless, I was able to gather sufficient data from all the reports to draw a comprehensive conclusion or analysis.
Conclusion:
Ultimately, the research provides a comprehensive and much-needed thorough analysis of ocean acidification; as demonstrated throughout the investigation and information presented, the disadvantages surpass the initial thought advantage regarding biodiversity loss and ecological impact. Moreover, certain aspects adversely contribute to marine life while also jeopardizing society. Regarding the purported "opportunities" of oceanic acidification, countless approaches exist to counteract its consequences and discover non-damaging solutions to advance humanity while minimizing several risky behaviors, primarily producing and consuming fossil fuels and reducing one's carbon emissions. It is evident from the information and data accumulated over the few years of investigation that there are numerous risks linked to ocean acidification; therefore, it is imperative to modify society's habits before it is too late. Awareness about ocean acidification and its consequences should be a crucial part of the schooling years for every population as it may directly impact whether particular ecosystems get to live on or go extinct.
Written by: Fatima Fadhil Hussein Ghayb Al-Rubaye
Works Cited
Billé, R., Kelly, R. P., Biastoch, A., Harrould‐Kolieb, E., Herr, D., Joos, F., Kroeker, K. J., Laffoley, D., Oschlies, A., & Gattuso, J. (2013). Taking Action against Ocean Acidification: A review of management and Policy options. Environmental Management, 52(4), 761–779. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-013-0132-7
Caldeira, K., & Wickett, M. (2003). Anthropogenic carbon and ocean pH. Nature, 425(6956), 365. https://doi.org/10.1038/425365a
Doney, S. C., Busch, D. S., Cooley, S. R., & Kroeker, K. J. (2020). The impacts of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and reliant human communities. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 45(1), 83–112. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-012320-083019
European Geosciences Union. (2016). Reviews and Syntheses: Ocean acidification and its potential impacts on marine ecosystems. Reviews and Syntheses: Ocean Acidification and Its Potential Impacts on Marine Ecosystems. https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/13/1767/2016/bg-13-1767-2016.pdf
Godbold, J. A., & Calosi, P. (2013). Ocean acidification and climate change: advances in ecology and evolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 368(1627), 20120448. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2012.0448
Ocean, S. (2023, May 11). Ocean acidification. Smithsonian Ocean. https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/ocean-acidification#:~:text=Although%20scientists%20have%20been%20tracking,ocean%20acidification%22%20was%20first%20coined%20.
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