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"USC researcher experiments with changing ocean chemistry Jan. 19, 2011 | Molly Peterson | KPCC In his lab, USC's Dave Hutchins is simulating possible future atmospheres and temperatures for the Earth. He says he's trying to figure out how tiny organisms that form the base of the food web will react to a more carbon-intense ocean. Burning fossil fuels doesn't just put more carbon into the atmosphere and help warm the climate. It's also changing the chemistry of sea water. KPCC's Molly Peterson visits a University of Southern California researcher who studies the consequences of a more corrosive ocean. Tailpipes and refineries and smokestacks as far as the eye can see in Los Angeles symbolize the way people change the planet's climate. They remind Dave Hutchins that the ocean's changing too. Hutchins teaches marine biology at USC. He says about a third of all the carbon, or CO2, that people have pushed into earth's atmosphere ends up in sea water - "which is a good thing for us because if the ocean hadn't taken up that CO2 the greenhouse effect would be far more advanced than it is." He smiles. Hutchins says that carbon is probably not so good for the ocean. "The more carbon dioxide that enters the ocean the more acidic the ocean gets." On the pH scale, smaller numbers represent more acidity. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute estimates we've pumped 500 million tons of carbon into the world's oceans. Dave Hutchins at USC says that carbon has already lowered the pH value for sea water. "By the end of this century we are going to have increased the amount of acid in the ocean by maybe 200 percent over natural pre-industrial levels," he says. "So we are driving the chemistry of the ocean into new territory - into areas that it has never seen." Hutchins is one of dozens of scientists who study the ripples of that new chemistry into the marine ecosystem. Now for an aside. I make bubbly water at home with a soda machine, and to do that, I pump ca

Covering Ocean Acidification: Chemistry and Considerations Marah Hardt and Carl Safina June 24, 2008 Changing ocean chemistry threatens the survival of marine life as much as warming temperatures. Understanding the basic chemistry of ocean acidification and the relevant consequences for people and wildlife are keys to effective journalism on an issue of growing importance and interest to media audiences.

Resources from CA DTSC: - What is green chemistry? - What can green chemistry do? - How is DTSC promoting green chemistry? - Other Key Documents

Learn about the chemistry and biology behind our world's changing oceans, how humans are affecting our oceans, and what we can do to change it. See how increased carbon dioxide levels are changing ocean chemistry, and link chemistry to biology by examining the impacts of ocean acidification on marine organisms.

1 The carbon dioxide system in seawater: equilibrium chemistry and measurements 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Basic chemistry of carbon dioxide in seawater 1.3 The definition and measurement of pH in seawater 1.4 Implications of other acid-base equilibria in seawater on seawater alkalinity 1.5 Choosing the appropriate measurement techniques 1.6 Conclusions and recommendations 2 Approaches and tools to manipulate the carbonate chemistry 3 Atmospheric CO2 targets for ocean acidification perturbation experiments 4 Designing ocean acidification experiments to maximise inference 5 Bioassays, batch culture and chemostat experimentation 6 Pelagic mesocosms 7 Laboratory experiments and benthic mesocosm studies 8 In situ perturbation experiments: natural venting sites, spatial/temporal gradients in ocean pH, manipulative in situ p(CO2) perturbations 9 Studies of acid-base status and regulation 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Fundamentals of acid-base regulation 9.3 Measurement of pH, total CO2 and non-bicarbonate buffer values 9.4 Compartmental measurements: towards a quantitative picture 9.5 Overall suggestions for improvements 10 Studies of metabolic rate and other characters across life stages 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Definition of a frame of reference: studying specific characters across life stages 10.3 Approaches and methodologies: metabolic studies 10.4 Study of early life stages 10.5 Techniques for oxygen analyses 10.6 Overall suggestions for improvements 10.7 Data reporting 10.8 Recommendations for standards and guidelines 11 Production and export of organic matter 12 Direct measurements of calcification rates in planktonic organisms 13 Measurements of calcification and dissolution of benthic organisms and communities 14 Modelling considerations 15 Safeguarding and sharing ocean acidification data 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Sharing ocean acidification data 15.3 Safeguarding ocean acidification data 15.4 Harmonising ocean acidification data and metadata 15.5 Disseminating ocean

12 Principles of Green Chemistry

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What is Green Chemistry?

Ocean Acification Simulation Ocean AcidificationI developed this Carbonate Simulation to enables students and teachers to visualize how changes in atmospheric temperature and carbon dioxide concentrations may affect levels of carbon dioxide levels and related chemistry of the oceans. The applet uses coral reefs as an example of organisms that may be particularly affected by these changes in water chemistry.

An animated Robert Krulwich chemistry lesson -- in five episodes. [Correction The on-air version of this story stated that energy is released when carbon-atom bonds are broken. To be more precise, energy is released after the bond is broken and carbon atoms grab on to other atoms.]

An animated Robert Krulwich chemistry lesson -- in five episodes.

An animated Robert Krulwich chemistry lesson -- in five episodes.

An animated Robert Krulwich chemistry lesson -- in five episodes.

An animated Robert Krulwich chemistry lesson -- in five episodes.

"As the amount of Carbon Dioxide continues to build up in the atmosphere it is also changing the chemistry of the ocean. Ocean surveys and modeling studies have revealed that the pH of the ocean is decreasing (which means the ocean is becoming more acidic) due to increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide. This changing oceanic environment will have severe implications for life in the ocean. COSEE NOW is pleased to present A plague in air and sea: Neutralizing the acid of progress a new audio slideshow that features Debora Inglesias-Rodriguez. In this scientist profile, Dr. Inglesias-Rodriguez, a Biological Oceanographer at the University of Southampton National Oceanography Centre, shares her story of how she grew up loving the ocean and became interested in science. She also explains how witnessing the effects of climate change has lead her to research how organisms like Sea Urchins are being affected by ocean acidification."

"Study assesses nations' vulnerabilities to reduced mollusk harvests from ocean acidification August 2, 2011 Changes in ocean chemistry due to increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are expected to damage shellfish populations around the world, but some nations will feel the impacts much sooner and more intensely than others, according to a study by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)."

"Recognising ocean acidification in deep time: An evaluation of the evidence for acidification across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary Sarah E. GreeneCorresponding author contact information, 1, E-mail the corresponding author, Rowan C. Martindale1, E-mail the corresponding author, Kathleen A. Ritterbush E-mail the corresponding author, David J. Bottjer E-mail the corresponding author, Frank A. Corsetti E-mail the corresponding author, William M. Berelson E-mail the corresponding author Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA 90089 Received 22 July 2011. Accepted 17 March 2012. Available online 5 April 2012. While demonstrating ocean acidification in the modern is relatively straightforward (measure increase in atmospheric CO2 and corresponding ocean chemistry change), identifying palaeo-ocean acidification is problematic. The crux of this problem is that the rock record is a constructive archive while ocean acidification is essentially a destructive (and/or inhibitory) phenomenon. This is exacerbated in deep time without the benefit of a deep ocean record. Here, we discuss the feasibility of, and potential criteria for, identifying an acidification event in deep time. Furthermore, we investigate the evidence for ocean acidification during the Triassic-Jurassic (T-J) boundary interval, an excellent test case because 1) it occurs in deep time, beyond the reach of deep sea drilling coverage; 2) a potential trigger for acidification is known; and 3) it is associated with one of the 'Big Five' mass extinctions which disproportionately affected modern-style invertebrates. Three main criteria suggest that acidification may have occurred across the T-J transition. 1) The eruption of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) and the associated massive and rapid release of CO2 coincident with the end-Triassic mass extinction provide a suitable trigger for an acidification event (