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Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's ocean. Between 1950 and 2020, the average pH of the ocean surface fell from approximately 8.15 to 8.05. [ 2 ] Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are the primary cause of ocean acidification, with atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2) levels exceeding 422 ppm (as of ...
The sudden decline of carbonate production during the TOAE is widely believed to be the result of this abrupt episode of ocean acidification. [ 102 ] [ 103 ] [ 104 ] Additionally, the enhanced recycling of phosphorus back into seawater as a result of high temperatures and low seawater pH inhibited its mineralisation into apatite, helping ...
Ocean acidification is caused by the equilibration of the atmosphere with the ocean, a process that occurs worldwide. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere equilibrates and dissolves into the ocean. During this reaction, carbon dioxide reacts with water to form carbonic acid. The carbonic acid then dissociates into bicarbonate ions and hydrogen ions ...
The carbonate-silicate cycle is the primary control on carbon dioxide levels over long timescales. [ 3 ] It can be seen as a branch of the carbon cycle, which also includes the organic carbon cycle, in which biological processes convert carbon dioxide and water into organic matter and oxygen via photosynthesis. [ 5 ]
The carbonate pump is sometimes referred to as the "hard tissue" component of the biological pump. [45] Some surface marine organisms, like coccolithophores, produce hard structures out of calcium carbonate, a form of particulate inorganic carbon, by fixing bicarbonate. [46] This fixation of DIC is an important part of the oceanic carbon cycle.
The carbonate compensation depth (CCD) is the depth, in the oceans, at which the rate of supply of calcium carbonates matches the rate of solvation. That is, solvation 'compensates' supply. Below the CCD solvation is faster, so that carbonate particles dissolve and the carbonate shells (tests) of animals are not preserved.
The solubility pump is driven by the coincidence of two processes in the ocean : The solubility of carbon dioxide is a strong inverse function of seawater temperature (i.e. solubility is greater in cooler water) The thermohaline circulation is driven by the formation of deep water at high latitudes where seawater is usually cooler and denser.
The carbon cycle is that part of the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of Earth. Other major biogeochemical cycles include the nitrogen cycle and the water cycle. Carbon is the main component of biological compounds as well as a major component of many rocks ...