Question

Discuss ocean acidification with respect to coral reefs. Thank you !

Answer 1

Ans. Ocean water are slightly basic in nature, with around pH >7 and the shift in this pH causes various effect on ocean. The process of decreasing in the pH of the oceanic water by the consumotion of CO2 from the atmosphere due to pollution and due to the acid rainfall, the ocean water gets acidified and thus this process is called ocean acidification. There are many impacts of acidification of oceans as the life forms in the oceans get disrupted and organisms die. The CO2 from the buring of fossil fuels and other polluting sources gets in contact with ocean watera and form carbonic acid. There is a shift towards pH-neutral conditions rather than a transition to acidic conditions (pH < 7). Coral reefs are the highly productive organisms in the ocean bodies with large biomass production. The acidification of the water leads to the weakening of the coral skeletons by the process of bleaching, thus called coral bleaching. It becomes harder for the corals to build their skeletons as they grow  their skeletons upward toward sunlight and also thicken them to reinforce them. This leads to leave coral vulnerable to breaking. Thus ocean acidification is a threat to coral reefs.

  Please give a thumbs up if this answer was helpful to you. Thank you !!  :)