Issue Of Ocean Acidification

The issue of Ocean acidification is the direct effect of the rising levels of carbon dioxide in the ocean as well as the atmosphere. With the rise of carbon in the ocean, the pH level, which determines the amount of ocean that is acid. The root of the problem has been occurring since the 1830’s. In history, this has occurred once and that happened over 56 million years ago and the sources are unknown. This recent occurrence started due to the introduction of the Industrial Revolution. Between 1751 and 1994, surface ocean pH is estimated to have decreased from approximately 8.25 to 8.14. More than 23% of the inventory can be found in the North Atlantic, a region covering approximately 15% of the global ocean. By contrast, the region south of

The threat of acidification includes a decline in commercial fisheries and in the Arctic tourism industry and economy. This issue also affects indigenous people around the globe. The sport fishing and the industry of hunting both affect Arctic tourism.. The sport fishing industry is threatened by food webs that will be terminated, which provide food for the prized fish. A decrease in tourism lowers revenue in a certain the area, and threatens economies that are increasingly dependent on their local tourism. Commercial fisheries are threatened because acidification harms calcifying organisms which form the base of the Arctic food webs. pteropods and brittle stars both from the base of the Arctic food webs and are both seriously damaged from acidification. Pteropods shells dissolve with increasing acidification and the brittle stars lose muscle mass when re-growing appendages. This problem is so detrimental because if not solved, can eliminate species of marine life from different parts of the globe, and can possibly create an ocean in which is not safe for any living being. The harder part of the issue is the one based on the fact that industry growth is at its highest point that we have seen in several million years, and the educated guess that industry will reach a point by 2100 in which a solution for this problem will no longer exist. Us as humans have the ability to solve the issue by limiting the use of greenhouse gases and that will lower the amount of carbon that enters, in the ocean and the atmosphere. Furthermore, this issue is part of a cycle, meaning it will take many years to see any solution. The way that our world is shaped now gives the impression that a solution that will take a ton of effort and time to see results is not worth the change. The increasing use of greenhouse gases to run our cars and power our buildings is the problem that we are seeing. The