Chemistry & Causes
This gas dissolves into seawater and forms carbonic acid.
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Bleaching
True or False: Oysters and mussels find it harder to grow their shells in more acidic water.
True
Compared to other oceans, how much faster are California's waters acidifying?
2x / twice as fast
What percentage of atmospheric CO2 do the oceans absorb?
Around 30%
Apart from slowing coral growth, what do low pH levels do to existing coral skeletons?
The acidity dissolves them.
Between mussels and oysters, which is expected to lose more shell growth by 2100?
Mussels (25%)
Name one of the three main species that is becoming rarer in California's waters.
Spiny lobster, market crab, or dungenous crab
These ions are essential for the shells of certain aquatic organisms. Instead, hydrogen ions are "stealing" them.
Carbonate ions (CO3^-2)
This organism lives inside coral tissue, providing the animal with energy from photosynthesis
Zooxanthellea
Name an implication of decreased shell integrity for mussels OR oysters
mussels: can't hold on as well to rocks
oysters: struggle to begin the process of shell growth.
In Pawalan, coral populations have decreased by over ___ % over the last decade.
30
This modern process is causing factories to emit increasing amounts of CO2 into the air.
This coral genus is among the most diverse but also among the most sensitive to acidification. Half of its population has died in the Philippines since 2016.
Acropora
This type of shell material, used by urchins and starfish, dissolves faster than regular calcium carbonate
Magnisium calcite
25%