Acidification of the Ocean

Same Tropical Coral Reef Before (left) & After (right)

What does acid mean to you? Acids react with bases to become neutral. They are generally sour and react with calcium carbonate and have a pH of less than 7. Acids are dangerous to our oceans if you didn’t know. Burning of fossil fuels increases the greenhouse gas levels such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and especially ozone although it protects us, if there is too much of it, it becomes a bad thing. 

The increase of greenhouse gases changes the chemical composition of seawater making it more acidic. This is a very bad thing! Acidification of the ocean hurts most living things in the ocean, including plants. Animals whose have shells made of calcium carbonate (such as lobsters, crabs, mollusks and scallops) get broken down by the excess amount of acid. The shells of these animals deteriorate and they break down, and if they break down enough, they die. Since coral is made up of calcium carbonate, they deteriorate and die also when the acidity of the ocean increases. Humans use all of these habitats for food and other things directly impacting the marine habitat that is a treasure. By decreasing the amount of acid we put into the ocean and the amount of greenhouse gases we produce, we might be able to save the last few standing coral reefs and help to build better habitats for the animals of the ocean.

References
Definition of Acid
Greenhouse Gases
Conservation.org
Tropical Coral Reef Picture