The increase of CO2 in the atmosphere is doing more than just warming the planet and threatening the lives of many terrestrial species. A large percentage of that carbon is actually reabsorbed by the oceans, causing a phenomenon known as ocean acidification — that is, our carbon emissions are literally changing the chemistry of ocean water and threatening ocean ecosystems worldwide. On Not Cool episode 21, Ariel is joined by Libby Jewett, founding Director of the Ocean Acidification Program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who explains the chemistry behind ocean acidification, its impact on animals and plant life, and the strategies for helping organisms adapt to its effects. She also discusses the vulnerability of human communities that depend on marine resources, the implications for people who don’t live near the ocean, and the relationship between ocean acidification and climate change.
Topics discussed include:
Chemistry of ocean acidification
Impact on animals and plant life
Coral reefs
Variation in acidification between oceans
Economic repercussions
Vulnerability of resources and human communities
Global effects of ocean acidification
Adaptation and management
Mitigation
Acidification of freshwater bodies
Geoengineering
References discussed include:
NOAA’s National Coral Reef Monitoring Program
Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009
Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network
Al Gore: The Climate Crisis Is the Battle of Our Time, and We Can Win
Future of Life Institute, 7 November 2019. Podcast.
