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Example Bjerrum plot: Change in carbonate system of seawater from ocean acidification.. A Bjerrum plot (named after Niels Bjerrum), sometimes also known as a Sillén diagram (after Lars Gunnar Sillén), or a Hägg diagram (after Gunnar Hägg) [1] is a graph of the concentrations of the different species of a polyprotic acid in a solution, as a function of pH, [2] when the solution is at ...
To test for effects of different pH levels, the seawater was modified to two other pH levels, which corresponded with climate change models that predict future atmospheric CO 2 levels. [114] In the year 2100 the model projects possible CO 2 levels of 1,000 ppm, which correlates with the pH of 7.8 ± 0.05.
The species of DIC present in ocean waters are dependent on the pH of the system, and are illustrated by the Bjerrum plot below (Figure 1). Carbonate is dominant in higher pH (basic) environments, whereas carbon dioxide is dominant in lower pH (acidic) environments. Bicarbonate ions are abundant in relatively mid-pH waters.
Between 1950 and 2020, the average pH of the ocean surface fell from approximately 8.15 to 8.05. [32] 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 2024). [33] CO 2 from the atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans.
In the ocean, wave and wind movement allows carbon dioxide (CO 2) to mixes with water (H 2 O) forming carbonic acid (H 2 CO 3). Through wave motion this chemical bond is mixed up, allowing for the further break of the bond, eventually becoming carbonate (CO 3 ) which is basic and helps form shells for ocean creatures, and two hydron molecules.
Between 1950 and 2020, the average pH of the ocean surface fell from approximately 8.15 to 8.05. [21] 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 2024). [22] CO 2 from the atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans.
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 2024). [70] CO 2 from the atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans.
This rise in dissolved acid is also expected to acidify those waters, generating a decrease in pH. [22] [23] It has been estimated that the increase in dissolved carbon dioxide has already caused the ocean's average surface pH to decrease by about 0.1 from pre-industrial levels.