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Water is the medium of the oceans, the medium which carries all the substances and elements involved in the marine biogeochemical cycles. Water as found in nature almost always includes dissolved substances, so water has been described as the "universal solvent" for its ability to dissolve so many substances.
The ocean contains a natural buffer system to maintain a pH between 8.1 and 8.3. [11] The oceans buffer system is known as the carbonate buffer system. [ 12 ] The carbonate buffer system is a series of reactions that uses carbonate as a buffer to convert C O 2 {\displaystyle \mathrm {CO_{2}} } into bicarbonate . [ 12 ]
The pH range is commonly given as zero to 14, but a pH value can be less than 0 for very concentrated strong acids or greater than 14 for very concentrated strong bases. [2] The pH scale is traceable to a set of standard solutions whose pH is established by international agreement. [3]
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. [ 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 ...
A lower ocean pH has a range of potentially harmful effects for marine organisms. Scientists have observed for example reduced calcification, lowered immune responses, and reduced energy for basic functions such as reproduction. [8] Ocean acidification can impact marine ecosystems that provide food and livelihoods for many people.
Deep sea water column. The (oceanic) water column is a concept used in oceanography to describe the physical (temperature, salinity, light penetration) and chemical (pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrient salts) characteristics of seawater at different depths for a defined geographical point.
Biological oceanography is the study of how organisms affect and are affected by the physics, chemistry, and geology of the oceanographic system.Biological oceanography may also be referred to as ocean ecology, in which the root word of ecology is Oikos (oικoσ), meaning ‘house’ or ‘habitat’ in Greek.
Ocean chlorophyll concentration as a proxy for marine primary production. Green indicates where there are a lot of phytoplankton, while blue indicates where there are few phytoplankton. – NASA Earth Observatory 2019. [1] Marine primary production is the chemical synthesis in the ocean of organic compounds from atmospheric or dissolved carbon ...