A global conveyor belt is a form of deep-ocean circulation which is maintained by salinity water temperature through motions known as thermohaline currents. Dense water sinks to the floor while warm water rises to the surface, maintaining the motion. Starting from Norwegian sea at North Atlantic, the global conveyor belt carries thermohaline currents around the globe. According to the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the global conveyor belt drives salinity through polar action, which forms ice, leaving salt behind and increasing density. The currents move southwards to Antarctica through the Equator and back through two divergent routes of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The conveyor belt relates to global climate in aspects of carbon dioxide cycles and ocean nutrients (Rahmstorf, 2000). Ocean nutrients enhance the growth of beneficial plants and organisms, such as seaweed, planktons, and algae. Similarly, climate change can disrupt global conveyor belt if her is high precipitation or rainfall in the North Atlantic melting glaciers and affecting salinity. It is believed that such a disruption would consequently cause drastic temperature changes in Europe and neighboring regions.
Ocean Acidification, Significance to Climate and Consequences to Marine Organisms
Ocean acidification is the process that lower carbonate ion concentration, seawater pH and important saturation states of calcium carbonate, responsible for neutralizing seawater and maintaining constant and favorable pH for marine ecosystem. The main culprit for acidification is high carbon dioxide levels, which dissolve in seawater and hinder development adequate development of marine organisms. According to Koch et al., (2013), oceans absorb about 25% of global human production of carbon dioxide, which would be disrupted by acidified oceans. High atmospheric carbon dioxide has intense effects on climate in aspects of carbonic acid and melting of glaciers. High pH also disadvantages other aquatic plants in growth and reproductive cycles, therefore, limiting the oxygen-carbon dioxide balance in water. NOAA (n.a) argues that oceanic acidification consequently affects aquatic organisms in aspects of poor body structures such as bones and shells, lack of adequate food, and insufficient calcium carbonate shelters and habitats, for instance coral reefs. Common consequences include difficulties in marine life development and burdened food systems to marine organisms.
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References
Koch, M., Bowes, G., Ross, C., & Zhang, X. H. (2013). Climate change and ocean acidification effects on seagrasses and marine macroalgae. Global change biology , 19 (1), 103-132.
Rahmstorf, S. (2000). The thermohaline ocean circulation: a system with dangerous thresholds?. Climatic Change , 46 (3), 247-256.
U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Currents: Retrieved from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/currents/06conveyor.html
U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration PMEL Carbon Program, Ocean Acidification. Retrieved from https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/What+is+Ocean+Acidification%3F
