Ocean Acidification Explained

I think terms like "climate change" or "ocean acidification" get thrown around a lot, but rarely are they explained. I have already used these terms in my blog, so I wanted to take a moment to describe these terms in more detail.

Climate change occurs due to the emission of greenhouse gases. Common greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide and methane. While these are found naturally in the atmosphere, their concentrations are increasing due the use of fossil fuels. While the overall trend is for the world to get warmer, the term climate change is also referring to extreme weather patterns and the few places that have the potential to get colder.

Ocean acidification is linked to climate change. The ocean acts as a sink for carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide reacts with water and carbonate to form carbonic acid, which readily dissociates into bicarbonate ions and protons, as depicted in the following image:





An increase in hydrogen ions decreases the pH of the ocean, meaning it is more acidic. So why is this a problem? One major issue is that this process uses carbonate ions that would usually be bound with calcium. This is how shell building organisms and coral build their shells or hard parts. Therefore a more acidic ocean is going to be a poor environment for the organisms that depend on their shells for survival.

Scientists predict the acidity of the ocean will increase into the future. What exactly this means for ocean ecosystems is not really known. We know the effects it has on shells, but what about other organisms? Only time will tell. The best way that you can prevent ocean acidification is by lowering your carbon footprint. Ride your bike to work or take public transportation when possible. Use energy efficient products. Try to eliminate unnecessary plastic from your life. But also educate others! As I wrote in my first blog post, ocean acidification is not covered by the media very often. Knowledge is power! Many people do not understand the importance of this topic simply because they have never had the opportunity to learn about it.

Seattle Aquarium Letter of Support

I would love it if you could take the time to sign this letter of support for the Seattle Aquarium expansion. I have been volunteering there for over a year now, and I have seen the dedication of the staff to support their mission statement "Inspiring conservation of the marine environment". The goal is 800+ signatures, so share with family and friends as well!

http://www.supportseattleaquarium.org/support_letter

#SharkWeek

In my humble opinion, sharks have a bad reputation for no reason, or at least little reason. Here is a wonderful quote from my google search, "odds of being attacked by a shark":

1. The odds of getting attacked and killed by a shark are 1 in 3,748,067. In a lifetime, you are more likely to die from fireworks (1 in 340,733), light- ning (1 in 79,746), drowning (1 in 1,134), a car accident (1 in 84), stroke (1 in 24), or heart disease (1 in 5).

Those seem like great odds to me. I will say that being attacked by a shark is scary to thing about. Sharks are big, strong, and really good at using their teeth (If they have them). But aggressive sharks that are likely to attack a human are limited to very few species, common ones being great whites and tiger sharks. One of my favorite sharks, however, is the basking shark.

These filter feeding sharks can open their mouths up to 1.2 meters to filter plankton and small invertebrates out of the water as they swim, often near the surface. They are about 7-9 meters in length, making them the second largest fish. Whale sharks are the only fish that surpasses them. They have no teeth, so no need to fear if you see one in the ocean!

Here is a neat image of relative shark sizes, with a human thrown into the mix:

Sharks are incredible animals. The more we learn about them, the less I think people will continue to fear them. Shark conservation is extremely important. Sharks can be caught as bycatch in fishing nets. They are also caught on purpose for their fins to make shark fin soup. Many estimates say over 100 million sharks are killed every year, but the real number could be as high as 273 million. Many sharks are a top predator in the food chain, and thus it is vital to the whole ecosystem to protect them. Many organizations fight to protect sharks, and often among those groups are survivors of shark attacks. You personally can protect sharks by sharing your knowledge with others! Tell them how important sharks are to ecosystems and how unlikely death by shark is. Selling shark products is legal in most places around the world, so be an informed consumer, know what you're buying, and support the companies that support sharks.

Happy shark week!