Question

1. explain the connection between ocean acidification and climate change.

2. What positive or negative feedback loops can be found within these systems?

Answer 1

1. Ocean acidification is caused by increased and prolonged absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere. iIncrease in carbon emission has led to an increase in CO2 in the atmosphere which has in turn decreased the pH of the oceanic waters. The increase in acidification of the oceans will cause ocean warming due to which the ocean gets saturated with hydrogen and carbonate ions due to which planktons and other photosynthestic sea life dimnishes and as an effect the amount of carbon dioxide converted to oxygen reduces leading to more saturation of CO2 in the atmosphere. This results in global warming resulting in climate change. This effect is a cycle between climate change and ocean acidification which affects each other when the balance is lost.

2. A negative feedback loop will involve the reduction of warming and will have minimal or no climate change. Whereas a positive feedback effect will result in the rise of temperature leading to more warming and acidification of the oceans.

Acidification make some marine organisms to emit less of the sulphur compounds that help to seed the formation of clouds by which reduces global warming and climate change. Phytoplanktons produces dimethylsulphide.  Some of this enters the atmosphere and reacts to make sulphuric acid, which results in aerosols, Aerosols seed the formation of clouds which again results in reduction of temperature.

In contradiction when there is an increase of acidification, due to more atmospheric  CO2, there is more carbonic acid and hydrogen produced in the oceans resulting in decreasing of the pH of the oceans. This acidification leads to lesser formation of dimethylsulphide. On a global scale a fall in dimethylsulphide release due to acidification might have a major effect on climate, creating a positive-feedback loop and increasing global warming.