The Chemistry of Ocean Acidification and its Consequences for Ocean Life
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- This video gives an overview of how increasing carbon dioxide dissolved in ocean water creates a more acidic environment. Questions addressed in the video are what chemical processes are involved due to the presence of dissolved carbon dioxide, in particular how does increased dissolved CO2 affect those processes, and how does an increase in dissolved carbon dioxide affect marine life?
I cannot express enough how fantastic of a communicator you are; I came in with a rudimentary understanding of ocean acidification and you took it a step further by displaying the actual reactions, applying hess' law and highlighting the consequences of acidification with simple yet informative commentary. you're a phenomenal educator
Thanks for the comment!!
Amazing video! Great explanation!
Thank you!
Hello,
I have read about this in a paper titled "Anthropogenic ocean acidification over the twenty-first century and its impact on calcifying organisms," and that paper, from 2005, suggested that shell degradation would start occurring in 2050, in the southern ocean and then spread globally, if the human carbon footprint stays in a "business as usual" state. The human carbon input to the atmosphere in 2005 was less than 8 gigatons annually. In 2023 the human carbon input is greater than 10 gigatons annually. That is an increase versus static, or "business as usual." My greatest concern is oxygen depletion in the atmosphere due to shell degradation in phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are calcifying organisms that, among other marine organisms, provide a significant amount of the oxygen that we breathe. Phytoplankton are also at the base of the marine food web.
Additionally, any solutions would have to be applied at a similar rate as the pollution that is being applied to the atmosphere. For example, applying lye, iron, seaweed, or any other solution would have occur at a similar rate to the pollution that is entering the atmosphere. In 2022, globally, there were 100 million barrels (42 gallons each) of oil consumed each day. Imagine even a fraction of that, 1 million barrels a day, of lye, iron, seaweed, or something else being applied to the ocean, for many years. Should we halt the pollution or should we keep polluting and hope for a technological miracle?
This is a great vid! Thanks so much for posting.
What happens to the ph level of the waters surrounding the white cliffs of Dover when the cliffs collapses into the waters
The cliffs are white due to their being composed primarily of calcium carbonate, CaCO3. When in contact with water, a tiny percent of CaCO3 proceeds with the following reaction: CaCO3(s) + H2O(l) Ca2+(aq) + HCO3-(aq) + OH-(aq). Any added aqueous OH- ions will increase the pH of the water. The double arrow is there due to this being a reversible reaction. The equilibrium constant for the reaction is 4.7 x 10−9 at 25°C. What that means is that one out of every 4700000000 CaCO3 molecules will proceed with the reaction, while the rest remain as CaCO3. So yes there is a localized increase in pH, but the slightly raised pH water will mix with the rest of the ocean and dilute out that pH increase. Note also that this reaction is slowed down due to water only reacting with CaCO3 on the surface of the chalky chunks. The majority of the CaCO3 is below the surface of the chunk, an so has to wait its turn to come into contact with water as the water slowly dissolves the chunks of cliff. The CaCO3 tablets used in pharmaceuticals to reduce stomach acidity are designed to break apart quickly in the stomach, and that is aided by the very acidic pH of the stomach of around 1 to 2.
Super helpful and clear, thanks!
Amazing thank you!
Thanks! Very helpful!
Love this, great video! 🎉
thank you so much, real help :)
Thanks
Thanks a lot man
People with fish tanks or ponds put crushed shells into water to raise the ph . Question .Why would people think the the ocean is a good place to store co2?
During earth's history, the ocean has absorbed about 30% of atmospheric CO2. These large amounts of CO2 have dissolved into the ocean and have become stored there via a variety of processes, including the resulting hydrogen carbonate (which has a long half life in the ocean), phytoplankton and plant incorporation of the carbon in CO2 as a large array of biological substances, CO2 can be incorporated as mineralized rocks on the sea floor, etc. All of this was essential for the natural unfolding of the evolution of the climate and life on earth. This was all occurring to a large extent as an equilibrium-- the processed was balanced. However, due to the sudden large increase in atmospheric CO2 in the last 150+ years, the equilibrium has been drastically thrown off. If the amount of CO2 in the air were leveled off today, it would take many many millenia for the ocean to come back to an equilibrium.
Regarding crushed shells-- they are made of calcium carbonate, CaCO3. When in contact with water, a tiny percent of CaCO3 proceeds with the following reaction: CaCO3(s) + H2O(l) Ca2+(aq) + HCO3-(aq) + OH-(aq). Any added aqueous OH- ions will increase the pH of the water. The double arrow is there due to this being a reversible reaction. The equilibrium constant for the reaction is 4.7 x 10−9 at 25°C. What that means is that one out of every 4700000000 CaCO3 molecules will proceed with the reaction, while the rest remain as CaCO3. So not very effective for large scale reversal of acidification.
@@CrashChemistryAcademy still a lot to take in. But what about the White Cliffs of Dover,, isn’t that Calcium carbonate? And I’ve seen videos,where it’s eroding and falling back into the ocean. You would think that the ph would be higher around the straits. I haven’t found any numbers yet. I enjoy the study and your video,,,the politics going on make me nervous 🌳
Yes the white Cliffs are made of CaCO3 and there is a localized increase in pH where cliff chunks fall in the water, but the slightly raised pH water will mix with the rest of the ocean (especially in the rough English Channel waters) and dilute out that pH increase. Note also that this reaction is slowed down due to water only reacting with CaCO3 on the surface of the chalky chunks. The majority of the CaCO3 is below the surface of the chunk, and so has to wait its turn to come into contact with water as the water slowly reacts with the surface of the cliff debris. By the way, the CaCO3 tablets used in pharmaceuticals to reduce stomach acidity are designed to break apart quickly in the stomach, and that is aided by the very acidic pH of the stomach of around 1 to 2.
It takes about 40 years for the burning of carbon fuels to soak the oceans and the result of our actions over the last 150 years is that we have a huge carbon battery in the oceans. We are at 400 ppm atmospheric co2 for the next 1000 years. Plant more plants on land and reestablish eelgrass in our coastal waters.
why isn't H+ becoming H3O+ when it dissolves in water ?
Yes, All aqueous H+ ions exist as H3O+. For acid-base chemistry, aqueous H+ is used as a shorthand for H3O+. In particular showing it as aqueous H+ does not change the overall reaction since H3O+ will have H2O present on both sides of the equation and so can be ignored- leaving out the H2O as if writing a net equation.
@@CrashChemistryAcademy thanks
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