Ocean Acidification In this discussion you will be researching Ocean Acidification. You must write 1 original post of at least 800 words (think of it as a short research paper) BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Increasing Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is not only an issue in our atmosphere causing climate change, but it is also causing ocean acidification. “Fundamental changes in seawater chemistry are occurring throughout the world’s oceans. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) from humankind’s industrial and agricultural activities has increased the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. The ocean absorbs about a quarter of the CO2 we release into the atmosphere every year, so as atmospheric CO2 levels increase, so do the levels in the ocean. Initially, many scientists focused on the benefits of the ocean removing this greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. However, decades of ocean observations now show that there is also a downside — the CO2 absorbed by the ocean is changing the chemistry of the seawater, a process called OCEAN ACIDIFICATION ” (NOAA PMEL Carbon Program 2016). So what is Ocean Acidification? Go to http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/What+is+Ocean+Acidification%3F (Links to an external site.) to learn more about how ocean acidification occurs and some of the impacts to marine organisms. Then Go to the following link to observe a visualization of ocean acidification (Links to an external site.) . INSTRUCTIONS: Now that you have learned a little bit about ocean acidification, learn more about it by searching credible sources on the internet such as government agencies (NOAA), research institutions (WHOI), Science departments within Universities or reputable non-profit organizations (Ocean Conservancy, NRDC) as well as the journals and library data bases for more information. Discuss: How we are causing ocean acidification why we all should be concerned about ocean acidification, what impacts we can expect to see, and what can we do to prevent it or stop the impacts? You should cite your sources within the text (Author year) and in a Sources section at the end of your discussion.
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