Acid Test: The Global Challenge of Ocean Acidification

Summary

This video script delves into the ocean's mysteries, highlighting its vital role in sustaining life on Earth. It underscores the ocean's vulnerability to human-induced carbon dioxide pollution, leading to ocean acidification. The script warns of the dire consequences this has for marine life, particularly species that build shells, and the potential collapse of the food web. It calls for urgent action to reduce CO2 emissions, protect marine ecosystems, and embrace a green industrial revolution to ensure a sustainable future for both marine life and humanity.

Takeaways

• 🌊 The ocean is a vast and mysterious realm that has given rise to an incredible diversity of life over billions of years.
• 🐋 Despite our scientific advancements, the ocean continues to mystify us with its undiscovered depths and unique creatures.
• 🌍 Oceans play a crucial role in supporting life on Earth by providing food, recreation, transportation, and climate regulation.
• 🔄 Ocean acidification, often overshadowed by global warming, is a significant environmental issue caused by the absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
• ⚠️ The rapid increase in ocean acidity due to CO2 emissions could challenge marine life on a scale not seen for tens of millions of years.
• 🐚 Many marine species rely on the formation of protective shells, which are threatened by the decreasing pH levels in the ocean.
• 🌐 The effects of ocean acidification are global, with some regions, particularly cold water areas, being more susceptible to rapid changes.
• 🌡️ Coral reefs, which are already under stress from warming waters, face a double threat from ocean acidification, risking their collapse.
• 🦐 The potential loss of shellfish and other marine organisms could disrupt the ocean's food web, affecting both marine life and human food security.
• 🌱 Addressing ocean acidification requires a multifaceted approach, including reducing CO2 emissions, establishing marine protected areas, and promoting sustainable fishing practices.
• ♻️ Transitioning to cleaner, renewable energy sources and improving energy efficiency are key steps in mitigating the impacts of ocean acidification and preserving marine ecosystems.

Q & A

What are the secrets that the ocean keeps hidden beneath its waves?

The ocean keeps secrets of worlds within and over billions of years, creating endless varieties of life that enchant, sustain, and mystify us.

How does the ocean contribute to life on Earth?

The ocean contributes to life by enchanting, sustaining, and mystifying us with its diverse forms of life. It also provides food, recreation, transportation, and helps regulate climate and produce most of the world's oxygen.

What is the 'other carbon problem' referred to in the script?

The 'other carbon problem' is ocean acidification, which is less known than global warming but is a significant issue caused by carbon dioxide pollution that transforms the ocean's chemistry, making the water more acidic.

How does carbon dioxide pollution affect the ocean's acidity?

Carbon dioxide pollution, when absorbed by the ocean, reacts with water to form carbonic acid, increasing the ocean's acidity. This is a result of burning fossil fuels, which releases CO2 into the atmosphere and subsequently into the ocean.

What is the impact of rising ocean acidity on marine life?

Rising ocean acidity depletes the molecules necessary for shell formation in many marine organisms, making it harder for them to build their shells. This can lead to less energy for finding food and reproduction, and in extreme cases, the dissolution of shells.

Why are terapods and other shellfish particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification?

Terapods and other shellfish are vulnerable to ocean acidification because they rely on certain molecules in the water to build their protective shells. Rising acidity depletes these molecules, making shell formation more difficult and potentially leading to shell dissolution.

How does ocean acidification affect the food web in the ocean?

Ocean acidification can disrupt the food web by affecting the smallest organisms at the base, such as plankton. Since larger marine life depends on these smaller organisms for food, changes at the base can ripple up, affecting the entire ecosystem.

What are some measures that can be taken to reduce the effects of ocean acidification?

Measures to reduce the effects of ocean acidification include reducing CO2 emissions, establishing marine protected areas, restoring fish populations, and implementing sustainable fishing practices to keep ocean ecosystems healthy.

Why is it crucial to act now to address ocean acidification?

It is crucial to act now because if we do not reduce CO2 emissions, we risk condemning the oceans to an uncertain future, potentially leading to the collapse of marine ecosystems and the loss of vital ocean resources that sustain us.

What is the potential outcome if we do not address ocean acidification?

If we do not address ocean acidification, we could see a mass extinction of marine life, the collapse of coral reefs, and a shift from a world of rich biological diversity to one dominated by less diverse, more resilient species, often referred to as a 'sea of weeds'.

Outlines

00:00

🌊 The Ocean's Hidden Worlds and Fragility

The video script begins by highlighting the ocean's mysteries and the vast array of life it supports. It emphasizes the importance of the ocean to human life, providing food, recreation, and climate regulation. The narrator, an experienced diver, expresses concern for the ocean's vitality in the face of human impact. The script then transitions into discussing ocean acidification, a lesser-known but critical environmental issue. It explains how carbon dioxide emissions, a byproduct of burning fossil fuels, are absorbed by the ocean, leading to increased acidity. This change in ocean chemistry threatens marine life, particularly species that rely on calcium carbonate to build shells and skeletons, potentially leading to their dissolution.

05:02

🐚 The Impact of Acidification on Marine Life

Paragraph 2 delves deeper into the effects of ocean acidification on marine species. It discusses how increased acidity hinders the ability of organisms to form protective shells, leading to energy depletion and reduced reproductive capabilities. The paragraph also mentions the vulnerability of certain marine species to high acidity levels, which can dissolve their shells. The script points out that changes in ocean chemistry could lead to the dissolution of shells in coastal waters, affecting a wide range of shellfish species and the ecosystems they support. The potential loss of these species could have cascading effects on the entire marine food web, impacting both marine ecosystems and the millions of people who depend on them for food and income.

10:06

🌡️ The Double Threat to Coral Reefs and Fisheries

Paragraph 3 focuses on the dual challenges faced by coral reefs due to rising ocean temperatures and acidification. It underscores the sensitivity of corals to these changes and the potential collapse of reef structures, which house a significant portion of marine biodiversity. The script also addresses the broader implications for fisheries, particularly in cold water regions where acidification is expected to be most rapid. The narrator, a fisherman, emphasizes the immediate economic and ecological consequences of these changes, suggesting that the future of marine life and the livelihoods dependent on it are at stake. The paragraph concludes with a call to action, urging for significant reductions in CO2 emissions to prevent an uncertain future for the oceans.

15:09

🌱 The Urgency of Protecting Marine Ecosystems

In Paragraph 4, the script discusses the potential for a mass extinction event caused by human actions, emphasizing the unprecedented speed at which ecosystems are being altered. It calls for immediate action to protect marine ecosystems, suggesting that the ocean's resilience can be harnessed if given the chance. The paragraph outlines various measures that can be taken to support the ocean's health, such as establishing marine protected areas, adopting sustainable fishing practices, and reducing pollution. It also highlights the importance of energy efficiency and the adoption of renewable energy sources as part of the solution to reduce carbon emissions. The script paints a picture of a green industrial revolution that could benefit both the economy and the environment.

20:10

🌿 The Path Forward: Hope and Action for the Ocean's Future

The final paragraph of the script conveys a sense of hope and urgency. It acknowledges the significant changes that researchers predict for the oceans in the coming decades, emphasizing that these are not just distant problems but immediate concerns. The narrator, a scientist, expresses a personal commitment to preventing the loss of marine life, particularly coral reefs, and calls on policymakers to address the issue seriously. The paragraph concludes with a message of hope, suggesting that while there is much we don't know, we have the knowledge and tools to make a difference. It ends on a reflective note, encouraging viewers to consider the choices we make and the legacy we leave for future generations.

Keywords

💡Ocean Acidification

Ocean acidification refers to the decrease in pH levels of the Earth's oceans, caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. This process results in more acidic water, which can have detrimental effects on marine life, particularly organisms with calcium carbonate shells or skeletons. In the video, ocean acidification is highlighted as a significant threat to marine ecosystems, with the potential to dissolve shells and disrupt the food chain, as exemplified by the discussion on terapods and their thinning shells.

💡Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that is naturally present in the atmosphere and is also a byproduct of human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels. The video emphasizes the role of CO2 in both global warming and ocean acidification. It is noted that since the Industrial Revolution, the ocean has absorbed a significant amount of CO2, leading to a 30% increase in ocean acidity, which is a major concern for marine life and ecosystems.

💡Marine Life

Marine life encompasses the diverse array of organisms that inhabit the Earth's oceans, from microscopic plankton to large marine mammals. The video underscores the importance of marine life, not only for its own intrinsic value but also for the services it provides to humans, such as food, oxygen production, and climate regulation. The script also discusses the vulnerability of marine life to the impacts of ocean acidification and global warming.

💡Global Warming

Global warming is the long-term increase in Earth's average surface temperature due to human activities, primarily the emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. While the video script mentions global warming as a well-known environmental issue, it also points out that the same CO2 emissions contribute to ocean acidification, highlighting the interconnected nature of these environmental challenges.

💡Food Web

A food web is a network of feeding relationships among different species in an ecosystem. The video script explains how changes at one level of the food web, such as the potential inability of shellfish to build shells due to acidification, can have cascading effects on other species, including those higher up the food chain. This concept is crucial for understanding the broader implications of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems.

💡Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are underwater ecosystems characterized by reef-building corals. They are biodiversity hotspots, providing habitat for numerous marine species. The video script discusses the sensitivity of coral reefs to ocean acidification, which can impede the formation of their calcium carbonate skeletons, leading to reef degradation. The loss of coral reefs would have profound effects on marine biodiversity and the millions of people who depend on them for food and income.

💡Plankton

Plankton are microscopic organisms that drift in the ocean currents and form the base of the marine food web. The video script mentions terapods, a type of plankton, which are particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification. The thinning of their shells is a tangible example of how acidification can affect the foundation of marine ecosystems, with potential ripple effects throughout the food web.

💡Sustainable Fishing

Sustainable fishing practices aim to maintain fish populations at healthy levels while minimizing environmental impact. The video script touches on the importance of sustainable fishing as a way to help marine ecosystems become more resilient to challenges like ocean acidification. By allowing fish stocks to regenerate, these practices can contribute to the overall health and stability of marine environments.

💡Marine Protected Areas

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are designated regions of oceans or seas where human activities are regulated to protect marine ecosystems. The video script suggests that establishing MPAs can be a strategy to safeguard ocean life from the impacts of industry and development, thereby helping to maintain the health and resilience of marine ecosystems in the face of challenges like ocean acidification.

💡Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency refers to the ability to deliver the same service or product while using less energy. The video script discusses the potential of energy efficiency and clean energy technologies to reduce carbon emissions, which are a primary cause of ocean acidification. By using energy more efficiently and transitioning to cleaner energy sources, we can mitigate the impacts of our activities on the oceans and the climate.

Highlights

The ocean is a vast and mysterious realm that has given rise to an incredible diversity of life over billions of years.

Despite scientific advancements, the ocean continues to mystify us with its unknown depths and undiscovered species.

The oceans are crucial for human sustenance, providing food, recreation, transportation, and climate regulation.

Ocean acidification, a lesser-known but equally pressing issue alongside global warming, is caused by carbon dioxide emissions.

Rising ocean acidity threatens marine life on a scale not seen for tens of millions of years, with potentially devastating consequences.

Carbon dioxide pollution is altering the ocean's chemistry, making the water more acidic and endangering marine ecosystems.

The ocean has absorbed about one-quarter of the carbon dioxide produced by human activities since the Industrial Revolution.

If current pollution trends continue, ocean acidity could double by the end of the century, compared to pre-industrial levels.

Many marine species rely on the ability to form protective shells, a process that is being hampered by increasing acidity.

High acidity levels can lead to the dissolution of shells, threatening the survival of species like crabs, lobsters, and oysters.

Changes in ocean chemistry could ripple through the food web, affecting larger marine life and human food sources.

Cold water regions and areas with upwelling deep water are at higher risk of rapid acidification, impacting productive fisheries.

Coral reefs, which support a vast array of marine life, are particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification and warming waters.

The next decade is critical for taking action to reduce CO2 emissions and prevent the loss of coral reefs and other marine ecosystems.

Marine protected areas and sustainable fishing practices can help maintain the health of the oceans and their resilience to change.

Energy efficiency and the adoption of clean energy sources are key to reducing carbon emissions and mitigating ocean acidification.

The transition to a green industrial revolution offers economic opportunities alongside environmental benefits.

The choice is ours: continue with business as usual and risk the collapse of marine ecosystems, or embrace change for a sustainable future.

The urgency of the situation calls for immediate action, as the changes we make today will determine the future of our oceans and the life they support.

Transcripts

[Music]

[Music]

the ocean keeps

Secrets hidden beneath its waves are

worlds within

worlds over billions of

years the ocean has created endless

varieties of

life life that enchants

us that sustains

us and despite our science life that

mystifies us

[Music]

still

the oceans are an incredible

Place full of the most amazing kinds of

life life that you could never imagine

really

working things that if if somebody just

thought of them and showed them to you

you think that's ridiculous nothing like

that could ever

live but it

does in 35 years of diving it's it's

quite a picture I've spent my life on

the bottom of the ocean with black seab

bath I've seen white sharks underwater

I've been in schools of bait that would

be so big that they will dark out the

sun I can only hope that the ocean

maintains that Vitality it's it's it's

incredible place of mystery and and it's

something

that's beautiful beyond

description people rely on the oceans in

so many ways some ways are obvious like

food Recreation Transportation they

clean our

Shores they protect our coastlines from

storms the oceans regulate climate and

provide the world with most of its

oxygen but we are now certain of one

awesome

fact the ocean's power to create life

is rivaled by our own power to destroy

[Music]

it scientists refer to ocean

acidification as the other carbon

problem the first of course is global

warming people have heard about global

warming for years but it's only over the

past 5 years that experts really

understood that the carbon dioxide is

causing a problem for the oceans as

well and what's worrisome is it hasn't

even been on our

radar carbon dioxide pollution is

transforming the chemistry of the ocean

rapidly making the water more

acidic in decades rising ocean acidity

May challenge life on a scale that has

not occurred for tens of millions of

years so we confront an urgent

choice to move Beyond fossil fuels or to

risk turning the ocean into a sea of

weeds when we burn coal oil or gas we

introduce carbon dioxide into the

atmosphere but the atmosphere touches

the ocean over 70% of Earth's

surface so this carbon dioxide we're

putting into the atmosphere we are also

putting into the

ocean carbon dioxide or CO2 exists

naturally in our atmosphere plants need

it to

grow animals exhale it in every

breath but carbon dioxide is also a

byproduct of burning fossil

fuels and in large amounts it is a

dangerous pollutant

since the Industrial Revolution the

ocean has absorbed roughly one qu of the

carbon dioxide produced by burning

fuels scientists once thought this

beneficial after all that carbon dioxide

would otherwise accelerate global

warming but what happens when so much

carbon dioxide 22 million tons of it

each day mixes with ocean

water

in terms of chemistry the answer is

simple it becomes an

acid since the Industrial Revolution the

ocean acidity is increased by

30% with mathematical models scientists

have demonstrated that if we continue to

pollute as we are now the ocean acidity

will double by the end of the century

compared to pre-industrial times that is

a big

problem scientists only recently stopped

to think about what this would mean for

life in the

[Music]

ocean thousands of ocean species build

protective shells to

survive some are so prolific they can be

seen from

space

these organisms create their shells

which can be paper thin by drawing

certain molecules from the water around

them but Rising acidity depletes those

molecules so by removing the essential

building block for Shell formation it

it's making the organisms work a lot

harder to build their shells and that

means they have less energy to get food

they have less energy to reproduce and

eventually the organism can no longer

compete e

logically the surprise is how sensitive

some marine organisms are to this

increased acidity from carbon

dioxide and when acidity gets too high

shells

dissolve we're changing the basic rules

of everything and because of that a lot

of organisms may not be able to survive

[Music]

already we've seen water showing up off

the coast of Northern California that's

acidic enough to start actually

dissolving sea

shells it's thought that this kind of

corrosive water showing up will become

more and more

common most of the west coast of North

America's shellfish that's dungeon as

crabs lobsters muscles oysters sea

urants shrimp all those life forms are

at

risk by midcentury if we continue

emitting carbon dioxide the way we have

been entire vast areas of both the

Southern Ocean and the Arctic Ocean will

be so corrosive that it will cause seash

shells to disol

[Music]

scientific models show that in just a

few decades we will profoundly alter the

ocean's

chemistry such conditions haven't

existed since the extinction of the

dinosaurs recreating those conditions so

quickly could leave many ocean animals

unable to

adapt what if shellfish could no longer

build

shells would they cease to

exist

perhaps shelled creatures such as corals

and Plankton play a key role in the

ocean food web terap pods are a kind of

Plankton that live all around the world

and in great abundance in polar

waters terapod are especially vulnerable

[Music]

okay should I focus in that yeah right

in there we're looking at terapod shells

which are plantonic snails with a

calcium carbonate shell that we

collected from Antarctica this past

winter and you can see it looks like

there's this lip where it may have

already started to dissolve and kind of

curled over cuz that's what it looks

like when it dissolves it kind of melt

melts almost like a candle and wax

melting the shell thickness along the

Leading Edge right here is less than 1

micrometer thick these are the thinnest

terapod shells I've ever

seen there's growing alarm that higher

acidity will extinguish creatures like

terapod that are a basic food source for

fish

[Music]

in many parts of the world fish are a

basic food source for

people so you can't just worry about the

big things in the ocean you have to

worry about what they

eat and where their food comes

from if the smallest things in the ocean

are affected by ocean acidification

then it ripples all the way up the food

web making the largest things in the

ocean even more in

danger as individual strands disappear

the entire food web becomes weaker more

vulnerable less beneficial to

humankind and many of us are concerned

about what that means for the Earth's

Marine ecosystem

but also for the many millions of people

that depend on these systems for their

food and

income ocean acidity will rise most

quickly in cold water regions and areas

where deep water wells up to the surface

that is disconcerning because it

coincides with the regions of the most

productive Fisheries in the world I'm a

fisherman every single day I have to

make a prediction where I'm going to go

fishing whether I'm going to find fish

where I go and every single day the

decisions I make make the difference

between whether I stay a fisherman and

make a profit I can make predictions I

think these things are dire problems

either we change what we're doing on

land or it will have profound effects on

on on Fisheries as we know

them

marine life that might withstand warming

temperatures or Rising acidity May

succumb when confronted by

both coral reefs already struggle to

survive in warming Waters rising ocean

acidity puts them in Double

Jeopardy we know that coral reefs are

particularly sensitive to ocean

acidification and the reason for that is

that corals are unable to form their

skeletons as quickly as they used to and

reefs are starting to crumble and

disappear we may lose those ecosystems

within 20 or 30

years and in those structures live an

estimated million species one in every

four species in the ocean lives on a

coral

reef we've got the last decade in which

we can do something about this problem

but it's very very clear that if we

don't start to deal with it right now

with very very Stern cuts to emissions

we are going to condemn oceans to an

extremely uncertain

future we're really in the last Decades

of coral reefs on this planet for at

least the next say million plus years

unless we do something very soon to

reduce CO2

emissions we're moving from a world of

Rich biological diversity into

essentially a world of weeds

today we're in a really remarkable

history of the ocean 100 years ago is

inexhaustible you couldn't touch it you

couldn't harm it in 100 years it might

be

dead when people say it was high CO2 100

million years ago so we have nothing to

worry about that high CO2 was achieved

over a slow process of millions of years

and if we achieve high CO2 over millions

of years the earth will be able to

handle it if we achieve high CO2 over

decades the ocean is in big

[Music]

trouble Earth is the only planet we know

of where life

exists to understand our own actions we

sometimes need to view them in a larger

context planet earth was formed 4 and A2

billion years ago 3 and a half billion

years ago

life

began 250 million years ago dinosaurs

appeared and 200,000 years ago Homo

sapiens within that framework human

civilization is brand new our industrial

society but an

instant yet in that instant we have

altered the course of

nature we have heated the Earth's

surface

acidified its oceans and consumed much

of its natural

habitat now something extraordinary

looms a mass extinction of animals and

plants caused not by volcanic eruption

or the Collision of a meteor but by the

actions of one

species

[Music]

ours if we destroy these ecosystems it

will take millions of years for them to

recover it's as if somebody just because

they had the ability to do it decided to

run through the Metropolitan Museum with

a knife slashing the great paintings of

the

[Music]

world we have created this

problem we should be able to solve it

the ocean after all is resilient given

the chance and enough time it can heal

itself so how can we give the ocean that

chance Marine protected areas like

national parks in the sea shelter ocean

life from industry and

development sustainable fishing

practices allow fish stocks to

regenerate the ocean can better defend

itself against Rising acidity and

temperature if its systems are healthy

to make the oceans more resilient to

these changes we need to do a better job

in keeping the oceans healthy that means

restoring depleted fish populations

establishing Marine protected areas all

around the globe and reducing pollution

particularly nutrient pollution in the

coastal zones solving those local

problems gives those ecosystems a chance

to survive a chance to make it through

while we solve the global problem we

know how to solve the local problems of

marine ecosystem Health we know how to

solve the global problems the question

is will

we the only way to stop

acidification is to emit less carbon

dioxide our Industrial Revolution began

more than two centuries ago technology

has advanced rapidly since then but we

still make energy as we have for

hundreds of thousands of years by

setting things on

fire often we squander the energy we

make using more than necessary to

accomplish our

goals but now we know how to use energy

more efficiently how to do more with

less there was a time when people

thought about Energy Efficiency and

conservation is sacrifice doing without

dark homes shuttered economies that is

emphatically not what what we're talking

about we're talking about getting

dramatically more work out of less

energy with better technology those

Energy Efficiency Solutions are

particularly promising because the whole

world will want to adopt them if we take

that initial step we will also in

addition to reducing carbon pollution

have the very welcome dividend uh in the

form of economic stimulus because we'll

we'll be reducing energy

bills we know how to capture energy

cleanly from sunlight wind tides and the

Heat of the Earth's

core imagine that you're living in a

house that gets some of its electricity

from its own solar panels feed some of

that back into your own vehicle when

it's plugged in at night provides you

with Energy Services and maybe this is

the most important single piece of it uh

at costs below those you're paying now

that double dividend was never more

needed by the US and World economy than

it is right now we are on the verge of a

green Industrial Revolution a revolution

that will expand our economy protect our

resources and give us real energy inde

dependence there is much we don't know

about how carbon pollution will affect

our world still we have to choose we can

go on as we have forcing future

generations to survive somehow without

the vast ocean resources that have

sustained us or we can move Beyond

fossil fuels securing a future that

works for all of us for all living

things

things what will we

[Music]

choose you're not going to use this I'm

going to just say it though what what

makes a Greek tragedy a tragedy is that

you you can see it coming edus you know

goes and marries his mother and

eventually tears his eyes out and you

want to sell him look no you know don't

marry your mother you can stop this

process now and you think if I could

only go back and change that one little

tiny instant then things would have been

different I think we're in that instant

right now we sit by feeling almost

helpless because we see this unraveling

leading to its tragic end researchers

are predicting significant and

substantial changes in the next two

decades to our oceans so it is not

necessarily a problem we're passing off

to future generation it's a problem that

we're generating for

ourselves I think what gets me up in the

morning is that I don't want to see

coris disappear on my watch and I know

that my fellow scientists feel this way

as well so we feel compelled to

communicate the message that this is a

serious issue and that changes that

haven't happened for millions of years

are starting to happen right before our

eyes I think it's important to point out

that it's not all over yet I don't

expect people to understand what terapod

ODS are or what various forms of

Plankton are are likely to survive or

not survive but I do expect our policy

makers to take Serious an issue that is

so closely tied to to life on this

planet and the future of Life on this

planet I have hope you can't fish and

not have

hope