Like All Aspects of Long-Term Environmental Damage, The Cost of Ocean Acidification Is Hard To Nail Down
Since the Industrial Revolution, the pH of the oceans has declined from 8.2 to 8.1, largely due to the absorption of CO2 and the formation of carbonic acid.
What’s a lousy 0.1 in the scheme of things?
pH is logarithmic, like the Richter scale. In California, where we have earthquakes, we get familiar with these measurements whether we like it or not, where they’re of no great practical importance to the folks in Kansas (but watch out for those tornadoes—and governors with economic policies from hell). Earthquakes with Richter scale ratings below 6.0 seldom do too much damage to structures, but the Northridge quake of January, 1994, rated at 6.7, made a holy mess of the region for many miles around.
The concentration of H+ ions in a solution with pH 8.1 is 26% more than it is in one of pH 8.2, and it turns out that this has a very significant effect in the development of various processes in aquatic life, e.g., the formation of oysters’ shells.
Dr. Alex Carrana, the colleague I often quote (who carries a mere five degrees in math, engineering and physics) says, “I hope you like jellyfish, because that will be the only ocean animal species that will survive if the pH goes to 7.8 or below.
Back to the point: quantifying the cost of ocean acidification. Here’s a piece that tries to determine the cost (thus far) to the oyster fishermen.
Craig,
Thanks for this. It’s nice to put things into perspective sometimes, especially when the math is non-linear. While most of us comprehend the nature of logarithmic functions, it’s still hard to get excited about 0.1 when it’s brought up in the political theater – since we aren’t often sitting with calculators in hand…
That said, I still doubt many people would understand how fragile the coral ecosystem really is unless they’ve been engaged with it in some manner. When Rochelle and I go snorkeling, our guides have an extraordinary respect for just how fragile the underwater paradise really is, and they struggle to convey that… but it doesn’t sink in very well. The snorkeling expedition does – in a way nothing else could – allow you to glimpse the majesty of a vibrant living reef… But the true fragile nature of the reefs is very difficult to communicate. Until you try maintaining one yourself.
Rochelle and I have a small reef tank. It’s only 32 gallons, but it’s a beautiful living decoration in the corner, which is the greatest pain you can possibly imagine to keep healthy. We’ve only had one die-off since we got it, but we couldn’t detect the problem – whether it was ph imbalance, ammonia buildup, calcium and potassium levels, etc… that killed off three species of coral. Nor could the experts at the store. The problem with the water was too small for the standard water kits to detect… but it was enough to kill off our more challenging coral species.
We now only have the “easy” species of coral in our tank… and it’s all doing ok. But it’s truly impossible to recognize how fragile some of those treasures are until you try to maintain them.