Introduction
In recent years the environmental issue of ocean acidification has become more prevalent and
apparent in the scientific community. Ocean acidification is just as the name describes; the
acidifying of the ocean, making the pH of the ocean decrease. This is believed to be caused by an
increase in carbon absorption due to increased human carbon emissions that has led to a
disruption of the carbon cycle in the ocean and in excess of H+ ions. This adversely affects many
marine organisms, especially those such as the coral reefs of the Caribbean that rely on proper
ocean chemistry for the calcification of their exoskeletons (1). An additional issue observed in
the coral reef ecosystems of the Caribbean is coral bleaching, which is when coral polyps release
their symbiotic zooxanthellae due to stressors in their surroundings. We are seeking to compare
the trends of ocean acidification, the levels of things such as pCO2, pH level, levels of saturated
aragonite, and carbonate ions; with the observed occurrences of coral bleaching, especially the
mass bleaching
of 2005.
Figure 1:
Percentage of
coral colonies
bleached in
2005 by
Caribbean
satellite pixel
(2).
Rationale
By being able to identify if ocean acidification, or more likely one of its components above, is a
cause of coral bleaching we could zero in on this specific aspect and create preventative and
counteractive solutions and strategies that could eliminate this/these stressors from the Caribbean
coral communities and thus preserve and sustain these ecosystems.
Hypotheses
It is clear that one stressor that causes coral bleaching is temperature.
I believe that this study will show that decreasing pH trends and and increasing levels of pCO2
will correlate with increased amounts of coral bleaching.
Methodology
In order to find the element(s) of ocean acidification that correlate specifically with the
occurrences of coral bleaching, we will compare the specific archived data of these paramaters
from the Data in Classroom site (1) and compare it with archived coral bleaching occurrence
data found in a NOAA database (cite).
After locating this information we will create plots of each of the highlighted components of
ocean acidification against that of coral bleaching levels in order to properly present and more
easily analyze the relationship between these.
Anticipated Significance and Application
If this study is successful I will tell us the specific elements of ocean acidification that contribute
to the destructive phenomenon of coral bleaching. In doing so potential solutions could be found
for coral bleaching instead of focusing on the entirety of ocean acidification, thus raising the
success rate of combating bleaching.
References
1. National Academies. Ocean Acidification: a National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a
Changing Ocean. Washington, D.C.: National Academies, 2010. Print.
2. NOAA. <http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/publications/onepager_noaa_response.pdf>