Sea level rise is accelerating

Yup! Close to half of the CO2 mankind has added to the air has been absorbed by the oceans, causing an increasing acidification of the oceans that threatens marine life.

CO2 levels over the Arctic are about the same as everywhere else because the movement of the atmosphere thoroughly mixes all of the gases. Areas where CO2 emissions are particularly intense show temporary concentrations but the churning of the atmosphere causes these concentrations to quickly dissipate and difuse into the atmosphere.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CARBON DIOXIDE
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

CO2 concentrations aren’t the same everywhere.
In general, CO2 is well mixed in the atmosphere, mainly because it’s so long lived. Individual CO2 molecules do cycle back and forth in annually balanced exchanges between the atmosphere, biosphere, and oceans. However, the net addition of CO2 to the atmosphere from human activities will take a very long time to be permanently absorbed by oceans, plants, and soil. If you add a pulse of extra CO2 into the atmosphere, only about half of it will be gone from the air a century later. The rest will leave the atmosphere even more gradually, over hundreds and even thousands of years.

Since CO2 has plenty of time to disperse throughout the global atmosphere, it’s possible to use values collected at a remote site like Mauna Loa - more than two miles above the Pacific, and many hundreds of miles from any continent - as a proxy for global concentrations.

Even so, there are significant differences from place to place and one time to another, as vividly illustrated by NOAA’s CarbonTracker website. CO2 is regularly measured at several other locations, such as Australia's Cape Grim and Ireland's Mace Head. A major NCAR-led field project called HIPPO sampled the atmosphere between the Arctic and Antarctic on five occasions from 2009 to 2012, measuring seasonal and latitudinal variations in CO2 from aboard HIAPER, the NSF/NCAR Gulfstream V aircraft. Researchers are now using that wealth of data to gain a better picture of how CO2 amounts vary within the long-term global increase.


CarbonTracker - CO2 weather for June-July, 2008. Warm colors show high atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and cool colors show low concentrations. As the summer growing season takes hold, photosynthesis by forests and crops draws concentrations of CO2 down, opposing the general increase from fossil fuel burning. The resulting high- and low-CO2 air masses are then moved around by weather systems to form the patterns shown here. [More on CO2 weather]

 

There is no evidence of any ocean acidification according to an NOAA scientist. You are referring to model outputs again. Models are not reality but you do fall for the media bits don't you?

The 2014 5th IPCC report Summary for Policymakers, written by politico-bureaucrats, waxes fearful about ocean acidification. But the scientists themselves in their non-sexed-up findings in body text, WG11 Chapter 6, say, for example,

# “Few field observations conducted in the last decade demonstrate biotic responses attributable to anthropogenic ocean acidification” pg 4

# “Both acclimatization and adaptation will shift sensitivity thresholds but the capacity and limits of species to acclimatize or adapt remain largely unknown” Pg 23

# “To date, very few ecosystem-level changes in the field have been attributed to anthropogenic or local ocean acidification.” Pg 39

 

Well, that's a bald faced lie.

Even in the cherry-picked quote from Dr. Shallin in that you posted, he actually says:

"...we can and are dealing with OA [Ocean Acidification] now and that we have an opportunity to prevent the major predicted impacts of OA by stopping carbon emissions before larger chemistry changes happen…The vast majority of the biological impacts of OA will only occur under projected future chemistry conditions. Also, the study of the biological impacts of OA is so young...."

So....it's happening NOW and it is happening so rapidly that scientists haven't had much time yet to study this phenominon, but they know that major effects on marine life will happen in the future if mankind fails to reduce our carbon emissions and allows this acidification process to continue into the future for awhile.

In the real world, this is what NOAA actually says about this subject....

What is Ocean Acidification?
NOAA
A pH unit is a measure of acidity ranging from 0-14. The lower the value, the more acidic the environment. Becoming more acidic is a relative shift in pH to a lower value.



The Chemistry
When carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by seawater, chemical reactions occur that reduce seawater pH, carbonate ion concentration, and saturation states of biologically important calcium carbonate minerals. These chemical reactions are termed "ocean acidification" or "OA" for short. Calcium carbonate minerals are the building blocks for the skeletons and shells of many marine organisms. In areas where most life now congregates in the ocean, the seawater is supersaturated with respect to calcium carbonate minerals. This means there are abundant building blocks for calcifying organisms to build their skeletons and shells. However, continued ocean acidification is causing many parts of the ocean to become undersaturated with these minerals, which is likely to affect the ability of some organisms to produce and maintain their shells.


Pteropod Limacina Helicina. Courtesy of Russ Hopcroft, UAF.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the pH of surface ocean waters has fallen by 0.1 pH units. Since the pH scale, like the Richter scale, is logarithmic, this change represents approximately a 30 percent increase in acidity. Future predictions indicate that the oceans will continue to absorb carbon dioxide and become even more acidic. Estimates of future carbon dioxide levels, based on business as usual emission scenarios, indicate that by the end of this century the surface waters of the ocean could be nearly 150 percent more acidic, resulting in a pH that the oceans haven’t experienced for more than 20 million years.

The Biological Impacts
Ocean acidification is expected to impact ocean species to varying degrees. Photosynthetic algae and seagrasses may benefit from higher CO2 conditions in the ocean, as they require CO2 to live just like plants on land. On the other hand, studies have shown that a more acidic environment has a dramatic effect on some calcifying species, including oysters, clams, sea urchins, shallow water corals, deep sea corals, and calcareous plankton. When shelled organisms are at risk, the entire food web may also be at risk. Today, more than a billion people worldwide rely on food from the ocean as their primary source of protein. Many jobs and economies in the U.S. and around the world depend on the fish and shellfish in our oceans.

Pteropods
The pteropod, or “sea butterfly”, is a tiny sea creature about the size of a small pea. Pteropods are eaten by organisms ranging in size from tiny krill to whales and are a major food source for North Pacific juvenile salmon. The photos below show what happens to a pteropod’s shell when placed in sea water with pH and carbonate levels projected for the year 2100. The shell slowly dissolves after 45 days. Photo credit: David Liittschwager/National Geographic Stock. Used with permission. All rights reserved. National Geographic Images.



Shellfish


In recent years, there have been near total failures of developing oysters in both aquaculture facilities and natural ecosystems on the West Coast. These larval oyster failures appear to be correlated with naturally occurring upwelling events that bring low pH waters undersaturated in aragonite as well as other water quality changes to nearshore environments. Lower pH values occur naturally on the West Coast during upwelling events, but a recent observations indicate that anthropogenic CO2 is contributing to seasonal undersaturation. Low pH may be a factor in the current oyster reproductive failure; however, more research is needed to disentangle potential acidification effects from other risk factors, such as episodic freshwater inflow, pathogen increases, or low dissolved oxygen. It is premature to conclude that acidification is responsible for the recent oyster failures, but acidification is a potential factor in the current crisis to this $100 million a year industry, prompting new collaborations and accelerated research on ocean acidification and potential biological impacts.

Photo: Freshly harvested oysters from Yaquina Bay, Oregon (Credit: NOAA)

Coral
Many marine organisms that produce calcium carbonate shells or skeletons are negatively impacted by increasing CO2levels and decreasing pH in seawater. For example, increasing ocean acidification has been shown to significantly reduce the ability of reef-building corals to produce their skeletons. In a recent paper, coral biologists reported that ocean acidification could compromise the successful fertilization, larval settlement and survivorship of Elkhorn coral, an endangered species. These research results suggest that ocean acidification could severely impact the ability of coral reefs to recover from disturbance. Other research indicates that, by the end of this century, coral reefs may erode faster than they can be rebuilt. This could compromise the long-term viability of these ecosystems and perhaps impact the estimated one million species that depend on coral reef habitat. For more information on the impact of ocean acidification on coral, see NOAA's Coral Reef Watch website.

Ocean Acidification: An Emerging Global Problem
Ocean acidification is an emerging global problem. Over the last decade, there has been much focus in the ocean science community on studying the potential impacts of ocean acidification. Since sustained efforts to monitor ocean acidification worldwide are only beginning, it is currently impossible to predict exactly how ocean acidification impacts will cascade throughout the marine food chain and affect the overall structure of marine ecosystems. With the pace of ocean acidification accelerating, scientists, resource managers, and policymakers recognize the urgent need to strengthen the science as a basis for sound decision making and action.

 

how much CO2 is in the oceans?

 

Yep, all based on models, not on what is happening.

 

LOL.... Nope! Totally wrong again, you poor clueless dupe.

If you weren't so brainwashed and you actually bothered to read the evidence you're shown, you would have noticed this passage in the NOAA article I just posted that mentioned the physical measurement basis of the scientific observations of the mounting acidification of the oceans. An enormous number of other real world observations also confirm the increasing effects of this CO2 driven acidification process.

"Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the pH of surface ocean waters has fallen by 0.1 pH units. Since the pH scale, like the Richter scale, is logarithmic, this change represents approximately a 30 percent increase in acidity."

 

Ha ha ha ha ha! Ocean ph varies by as much as 1 ph normally if you knew anything about this..

 

LOLOLOLOLOL.......if you actually knew anything about this, you would know that, while the local pH in one part of the ocean may vary a bit compared to other spots, according to NOAA (and all of the other ocean monitoring science organizations around the world): "Since the Industrial Revolution, the global average pH of the surface ocean has decreased by 0.11, which corresponds to approximately a 30% increase in the hydrogen ion concentration."

 

So, show me all the measurement locations they have? After all, there are very few compared to the land ocean temperature recordings that only cover 25% of the earth and you probably are not aware that this number comes from ONE location. That's like saying the earth is cooling based on one temperature record in the US.

 

The meaningless insanity of your gibberish has reached new heights.....or, in other words, that's complete bullcrap!

 

In other words, you had no clue.

 

Oh, I've known for some time that you are always posting delusional nonsense that has no connection to reality.....but your last screed was so raving insane, I have to wonder if maybe you aren't just putting me on.

I mean, this is really meaningless gibberish....

Hoosier - "So, show me all the measurement locations they have? After all, there are very few compared to the land ocean temperature recordings that only cover 25% of the earth and you probably are not aware that this number comes from ONE location. That's like saying the earth is cooling based on one temperature record in the US."

Ocean pH is directly measured at a quite a few locations around the world, from shoreline stations and from research ships and tethered research floats/platforms. Recently scientists discovered a way to measure ocean surface pH from space using satellite instrumentation.

Examples...

Coastal Antarctic study identifies large acidic change
PhysOrg
August 14, 2013
Coastal Antarctic study identifies large acidic change - A unique comparison of coastal water monitoring near Australia's Davis Station in East Antarctica has shown significant changes in ocean chemistry over the past 16 years. The study, published this week in The Journal of Marine Chemistry, shows a marked and somewhat unexpected increase in the acidity of the seawater in the region.

Measuring present ocean acidification
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Scientists know that the oceans are absorbing CO2 and subsequently becoming more acidic from measurements made on seawater collected during research cruises, which provide wide spatial coverage over a short time period, and from automated ocean carbon measurements on stationary moorings, which provide long-term, high-resolution data from a single location.

Ocean Acidity Measured From Space
IFL Science
by Stephen Luntz
February 16, 2015
A newly announced technique will allow marine scientists to measure the acid/base balance of remote parts of Earth's oceans without needing to visit hard-to-reach regions or deploy floats. The satellite measurements will allow researchers to track the lesser known aspects of burning fossil fuels on ocean acidification.

The Earth's oceans areslightly basic, with a pH of around 8.1 on a scale of 0 to 14, with lower numbers as acidic, higher numbers as basic, and 7 as neutral. This pH level is vital to many marine species that need a basic environment in which to build their shells and skeletons. However, when carbon dioxide is dissolved in water, it produces a weak acid, which reduces the number of CO32− bicarbonate ions and makes it harder for some species to survive. Other creatures experience more subtle effects.

With a quarter of the carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels being absorbed by the oceans, its acidity has risen 26% since the start of the industrial revolution, while carbonate ions have fallen 16%. However, tracking the scale of this problem has been a challenge. The pH of the ocean varies as a result of factors such as river flows and plant uptake of carbon. While we have a reasonably good database of changes occurring close to shore, the open ocean is a different matter.

In Environmental Science and Technology, an international team announced that salinity, temperature and color data collected by satellites can be adapted to calculate the pH of the ocean at a particular point.


photo credit: Ifremer/ESA/CNES. Ocean alkalinity as calculated from salinity,
color and temperature - all measured from space

 

Thanks for proving my point. All this began with the ending of fundamental education (in favor of participation certificates). I know it is hard for some to actually think but your post proves nothing.

 

dude, do you ever read what you post? Hah, here I'll highlight some of the finer points of your nonsense post.

can be adapted to calculate the pH of the ocean at a particular point. Can be, hasn't yet, so that means no records yet. do you comprehend that?

monitoring near Australia's Davis Station in East Antarctica has shown significant changes in ocean chemistry over the past 16 years. The study, That's one station out of how big is the ocean? 75% of the global area? One station.

Dude Hoosier was spot on, and you can't accept it, yet you post it. funny stuff lex luthard.

 

More nonsense that just demonstrates your utter ignorance and confusion.

When scientists announce that they have discovered a new technique that allows them to calculate the ocean pH at any particular spot using the salinity, temperature and color data collected by satellites - ("an international team announced that salinity, temperature and color data collected by satellites can be adapted to calculate the pH of the ocean at a particular point") - they are NOT saying that this measurement "hasn't yet" been done. That is an unbelievablely idiotic conclusion to reach, given that a picture of the oceans' acid/alkaline balance as measured from space was included in the article excerpt that I posted. You apparently can't even understand what is right in front of you.


photo credit: Ifremer/ESA/CNES. Ocean alkalinity as calculated from salinity, color and temperature - all measured from space

As I very clearly stated, that was an example. Obviously! There are many ocean monitoring stations that measure ocean pH on many shorelines, in many countries. You really should have gotten a clue when
I said:
"Ocean pH is directly measured at a quite a few locations around the world, from shoreline stations and from research ships and tethered research floats/platforms. Recently scientists discovered a way to measure ocean surface pH from space using satellite instrumentation.

Examples...

Coastal Antarctic study identifies large acidic change"

 

than post up all those stations then, don't post one and say there. Merely validated hoosiers post. So again, you have zip, zero, nada to back any of your philosophy. I laugh at you. BTW, please post in 25 pt fonts next time, I still can't hear you.

 

More demented denier cult drivel that ignores all of the evidence, including the evidence posted here that debunks your fraudulent denier cult myths.

 

evidence, what evidence? show me 120 PPM of CO2 is dangerous, that's all. validate the statement!!!!!