Ocean Acidification
Ocean acidification refers to the situation where water bodies, particularly oceans become acidic after their chemical make-up changes as a result of dissolving carbon dioxide that is abundantly found in the atmosphere. Human activities particularly industrialization and the burning of fossil fuels through vehicles that release CO2 in the atmosphere has increased the problem of ocean acidification to levels that put marine life under threat. Overall, this paper explores the subject of ocean acidification focusing on the Pacific Northwest and also envisioning what the future holds in the wake of this crisis.
Understanding the process of ocean acidification will provide a good basis for understanding the impact that it has on the Pacific Northwest. First, human beings activities such as industrialization and the burning of fossil fuels release a lot of CO2 into the atmosphere. Industries that mushroomed all over the world as a result of industrial revolution produce a lot of CO2 into the atmosphere on a daily basis ( Barner, Sull & Craig, 2015). The vehicles that people use on the roads also burn fossil fuels which produce huge amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. It is estimated that about half of the entire CO2 that exists in the atmosphere dissolves into oceans through natural processes. CO2 dissolves in water to form carbonic acid which lowers the PH of the water by making it more acidic.
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Impacts of Acidification in the Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is home to various marine organisms such as coral, mussels, clams, barnacles, and microscopic plankton among many others. Those marine organisms rely entirely on a balanced or neutral PH condition to build their shells and other structures that use calcium and thus when ocean acidification occurs and upsets the PH equilibrium; these organisms die in large numbers ( Barner, Sull & Craig, 2015). The direct impact of ocean acidification on the Pacific Northwest is the death of or marine organism. Importantly, the calcifying organism plays a crucial role in the ocean since they provide natural habitat, particularly for fish. They also provide natural defense for erosion and ocean storms. Importantly the calcifying species provide food for certain predators and thus their death with cause imbalance in the ecosystem by way of starving other predators which depend on them for food.
Equally important to note is that ocean acidification will affect the Pacific Northwest in the sense that it will cause the death of many fishes and thus affect fishing activities in the region which a play a significant role in sustaining livelihoods of the inhabitants. Ocean acidification will affect directly the food that humans eat as most of the shellfish need calcium carbonate in their formation. Importantly, the presence of healthy coral reefs plays a major role in human survival as thousands of people rely on them for food. Ocean acidification causes the death of coral reefs as they cannot survive under the conditions of decreased water PH ( Barton, 2015). The death of the coral reefs implies that thousands of human beings face the risk of starvation particularly those that border the Pacific Northwest region if urgent measures are not put in place to address the crisis.
Noteworthy, tourism plays an integral role in many economies of the world. The Pacific Northwest region also depends on tourism activities for prosperity. The increasing ocean acidification makes it impossible for the marine mammals and organisms to survive. Most of them die or vacate to more suitable waters. Tourists that used to flock the Pacific Northwest will no longer go there since the acidification effect will have destroyed all the attractions ( Barton, 2015). The overall damage is that ocean acidification will hinder tourism activities by destroying the tourists’ attraction sites that include the coral reefs and the marine organisms that most tourists used to dive in the ocean to interact with them even as they take pictures of them. The changing scenario calls for quick intervention measures even as the number of visitors at the Pacific Northwest decline with each passing day.
The Pacific Northwest will also suffer from the death of local species. The region rears Pacific Oysters in the established aquaculture facilities. Pacific oysters provide the main ingredient in the meal of the natives and due to the calamity of ocean acidification; the oysters die in their thousands as they cannot survive the declining PH level that exists in the ocean ( Barton, 2015). The food that people eat defines their culture. In other words, food form part of the culture of a given people and thus when the native of Pacific Northwest region stop eating Pacific oyster due to their death in huge numbers, it amounts to saying that the phenomenon has affected their way of life. The crisis will have changed the peoples’ culture significantly.
Future Impacts of Ocean Acidification
The future only promises to bring misery in the wake of the ocean acidification crisis. Many governments have not put in place measures to curb carbon emissions into the atmosphere which mean the pollution is still ongoing perhaps even to a more significant extent than before since many countries are still going through the process of industrialization. Economic growth witnessed in many countries indicates that a considerable portion of people can acquire more luxury goods such as vehicles. As more people buy the fossil fuel-driven automobiles, the number of pollution increases and more carbon finds its way into the atmosphere and ultimately into the oceans ( Gaylord, 2015). The overall damage for the increased carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere is that the effects it has on marine organisms and mammals will double. The numbers of marine deaths will increase thus speeding up the extinction rate of many species.
Since carbon levels continue to increase with the increase in the burning of fossil fuels, human beings should prepare to face acute shortage of ocean foods. The future will see a decreased supply of seafood as fishes will have died in their huge numbers. Importantly, the death of the marine animals will cause more water pollution as their carcasses will rot in the oceans that making the situation even worse than it is today ( Gaylord, 2015). It is essential to indicate that every species plays a unique role in the ecosystem and the removal of even a single species destabilizes the ecosystem by way of creating an imbalance. The imbalance affects every species in the ecosystem, and if not addressed then it might lead to the collapse of the entire ecosystem.
Overall, it is evident that ocean acidification has far more impacts on the universe than most people ever imagined. Carbon emissions into the atmosphere have more impacts on the oceans than even on land. Many people thought carbon emission was only a threat to land animals and plant species but the new knowledge provides shocking revelations. Human beings are staring at a food crisis even as the marine animals face imminent danger of extinction in the few years to come if adequate measures to address the situation are not taken ( Gaylord, 2015). Tourism activities that have supported the economy of many places such as the Pacific Northwest now face their toughest times even as visitors keep off the region due to lack of attractive sites as a result of the destruction caused by carbon on to the atmosphere. The future looks hopeless even as little is being done to address the crisis.
CSE Bibliography
In the 21 st century, ocean acidification and global warming will greatly hinder carbon accretion and corals will reduce significantly ( Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2001, 1737).
The rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide are causing a decline in the ocean Ph thus affecting calcium carbonate levels. As such, if these pattern continues organisms such as planktons will be greatly affected (Orr et al., 2005, 681).
Ocean acidification will negatively impact marine organisms that create the shells from calcium carbonate (Doney, Fabry, Feely, & Kleypas, 2009, 235).
Ocean acidification remains to be an important threat to coral reefs since it reduces the rate of the formation of calcium Anthony, Kline, Diaz-Pulido, Dove, & Hoegh-Guldberg, 2008, 17442).
Ocean acidification, which is a threat to marine organisms, will continue to increase in the 21 st century due to the increasing levels of carbon dioxide emissions (Kroeker et al, 2010, 1419).
References
Barner, C., Sull, E., & Craig, P. (2015). How Ocean Acidification May Impact our Fisheries.
Barton, A., Waldbusser, G. G., Feely, R. A., Weisberg, S. B., Newton, J. A., Hales, B., ... & King, T. (2015). Impacts of coastal acidification on the Pacific Northwest shellfish industry and adaptation strategies implemented in response. Oceanography , 28 (2), 146-159.
Gaylord, B., Kroeker, K. J., Sunday, J. M., Anderson, K. M., Barry, J. P., Brown, N. E., ... & Klinger, T. (2015). Ocean acidification through the lens of ecological theory. Ecology , 96 (1), 3-15.
