Ocean water is saturated with calcium carbonate. This calcium is useful for many species like corals and planktons. The calcium in the water contributes mainly to the formation of skeletons of the corals. But the increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the concentration of carbonates and the pH of ocean water is decreasing eventually decreasing the calcium carbonates. Researchers predict that if the saturation keeps on decreasing then corals will face a great problem in future. The Southern Hemisphere Oceans have shown a decrease in carbonate saturation. By 2100, there might be a chance that corals become extinct or extremely endangered in the Southern Oceans. Ocean uptakes atmospheric CO2. This helps to moderate future climate changes. But when CO2 enters the ocean water, it undergoes hydrolysis and releases a hydrogen ion. As the concentration of H+ ions increases, the pH decreases. The pH of surface ocean water has already decreased by 0.1 units in the last few deca...
Copper plays a vital role in enzymic activities in humans and fishes. Copper in small quantity is needed for survival and growth. But if the concentration of copper increases then it acts as a poison. Generally, ocean water has very little concentration of copper, but with increasing industrialization and on-surface activities, its concentration is also increasing. This copper can also react with other gaseous molecules or organic molecules, eventually making ocean water toxic and unsuitable for the growth of marine animals. Ocean Acidification is reducing the carbonate concentration, making it an even more suitable environment for copper to react with organic ligands (L) like thiols, exopolysaccharides etc. It is predicted that by the end of this century the concentration of free copper ions in the ocean will increase by 50%. This will greatly change the chemistry of the ocean and will affect the physiological processes of marine species. By 2100, environmental factors wi...
The Greenland Ice Sheet is the world's second-largest glacier. Greenland is also the world's largest island. Greenland holds enough ice to raise sea level by 7 m. The ice sheet covers around 80% of Greenland's total area. The ice sheet has a thickness ranging from 2 km to 3 km. We all know that global warming has caused polar ice to melt. Apart from the ice of Antarctic regions and the Arctic regions, Greenland's ice is also melting at an alarming rate. The melting of polar ice caps is a natural process. The ice sheet was melting for the last 10 to 11 million years. But global warming and ozone holes accelerated the melting process. These sheets and glaciers were not made to melt at such a high rate. A recent study states that Greenland is melting at an accelerating rate. The natural melting process has almost no effect on sea level, but this accelerated melting will surely affect the sea level. Even if the sea level will rise by few inches, most of the coastal cities...
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