Changes in atmospheric C02 and Ocean Ph.
Angus Todd s1644043
Introduction
One of the most important ecological issues facing mankind today is the effects of anthropogenic global warming. As humankind continues to burn hydrocarbons and release greenhouse gases through industry, it is important to understand what effects this can have on global systems. This report considers the effects of atmospheric CO2 on ocean Ph. Ocean Ph is an important ecological factor in the oceans as any change to the Ph in the oceans may lead to many species that are sensitive to ocean Ph levels to become threatened. For example, coral production decreases with an reduction in Ph as there are less carbonic ions available in the ocean, and in turn not only will coral …show more content…
This is obviously to do with the increase in anthropogenic emissions since the 1960s. This is important for establishing the main point of this experiment as the increase of CO2 is seen to be linked to ocean Ph in figure 1. So as there is generally a strong correlation coefficient and a low standard error, we can assume that figure 2 is correct and CO2 is continuing to increase rapidly. The weak correlation coefficient for the data in the 1960s could be due to less advanced technology which could have led to greater variation/ uncertainty in results. This increase in C02 levels between the decades could be linked to a couple of factors. Firstly the introduction of mass industrialisation to previously underdeveloped countries. For example the ‘new’ industrial superpowers of India and China have contributed massively to the recent increases in emissions as both of these nations have vast industries that have only recently been developed and the impact can be seen on a short time scale. However this increase is not caused (directly) by the rise in emissions but the increase in the concentration of the CO2 in the atmosphere (Knorr, 2009). This means that the systems that would usually mitigate unusually high levels of CO2 (e.g. the ability of the normal carbon stocks to take up the increased amount of carbon such as the ocean) cannot cope with this increase, so more of the C02 stays in the atmosphere. This is also due to solubility constant. As the temperature increases the ability for the oceans to intake carbon decreases, so the concentration of atmospheric carbon increases as the ocean cannot take in as much carbon as cooler, pre-industrial
Angus Todd s1644043
Introduction
One of the most important ecological issues facing mankind today is the effects of anthropogenic global warming. As humankind continues to burn hydrocarbons and release greenhouse gases through industry, it is important to understand what effects this can have on global systems. This report considers the effects of atmospheric CO2 on ocean Ph. Ocean Ph is an important ecological factor in the oceans as any change to the Ph in the oceans may lead to many species that are sensitive to ocean Ph levels to become threatened. For example, coral production decreases with an reduction in Ph as there are less carbonic ions available in the ocean, and in turn not only will coral …show more content…
This is obviously to do with the increase in anthropogenic emissions since the 1960s. This is important for establishing the main point of this experiment as the increase of CO2 is seen to be linked to ocean Ph in figure 1. So as there is generally a strong correlation coefficient and a low standard error, we can assume that figure 2 is correct and CO2 is continuing to increase rapidly. The weak correlation coefficient for the data in the 1960s could be due to less advanced technology which could have led to greater variation/ uncertainty in results. This increase in C02 levels between the decades could be linked to a couple of factors. Firstly the introduction of mass industrialisation to previously underdeveloped countries. For example the ‘new’ industrial superpowers of India and China have contributed massively to the recent increases in emissions as both of these nations have vast industries that have only recently been developed and the impact can be seen on a short time scale. However this increase is not caused (directly) by the rise in emissions but the increase in the concentration of the CO2 in the atmosphere (Knorr, 2009). This means that the systems that would usually mitigate unusually high levels of CO2 (e.g. the ability of the normal carbon stocks to take up the increased amount of carbon such as the ocean) cannot cope with this increase, so more of the C02 stays in the atmosphere. This is also due to solubility constant. As the temperature increases the ability for the oceans to intake carbon decreases, so the concentration of atmospheric carbon increases as the ocean cannot take in as much carbon as cooler, pre-industrial