the majority of marine organisms are found in coastal habitats and coral reefs in the ocean.
the majority of marine organisms are found in coastal habitats and coral reefs in the ocean.
where in the ocean are the majority of marine organisms found?
coastal habitats and coral reefs
Na
Na
for either aragonite or calcite, the two polymorphs of caco₃ produced by marine organisms, the saturation state of caco₃ in ocean water is expressed by the product of the concentrations of co₂²⁻ and ca²⁺ in seawater relative to the stoichiometric solubility product at a given temperature, salinity, and pressure. waters which are saturated in caco₃ are favourable to precipitation and formation of caco₃ shells and skeletons, but waters which are undersaturated are corrosive to caco₃ shells, and in the absence of protective mechanisms, dissolution of calcium carbonate will occur. because colder arctic water absorbs more co₂, the concentration of co₃²⁻ is reduced, therefore the saturation of calcium carbonate is lower in high-latitude oceans than it is in tropical or temperate oceans. in model simulations of the arctic ocean, it is predicted that aragonite saturation will decrease, because of an increased amount of freshwater input from melting sea ice and increased carbon uptake as a result of sea ice retreat. this simulation predicts that arctic surface waters will become undersaturated with aragonite within a decade. the undersaturation of aragonite will cause the shells of organisms which are constructed from aragonite to dissolve. this would have a profound effect on a large variety of marine organisms and has the potential to do devastating damage to keystone species and to the marine food web in the arctic ocean. laboratory experiments on various marine biota in an elevated co₂ environment show that changes in aragonite saturation cause substantial changes in overall calcification rates for many species of marine organisms, including coccolithophore, foraminifera, pteropods, mussels, and clams.
ocean acidification in the arctic ocean