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<TITLE>RE: [Vision2020] Clarification: Re: Coral Reefs: CO2 Source or Sink? Re: Four Levels of Global Warming: A Climate Change Update</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Hi Sam,<BR>
<BR>
The effect on other shellfish was not directly on my mind, but it has been discussed in the negatives ways that you mention. So I would certainly want to talk about increased ocean acidity in this connection as well.<BR>
<BR>
Thanks for getting this particular thread going, Sam.<BR>
<BR>
Nick<BR>
<BR>
Nicholas F. Gier, Professor Emeritus<BR>
Department of Philosophy, University of Idaho<BR>
"The Palouse Pundit" on Radio Free Moscow, 92.5 FM<BR>
President, Idaho Federation of Teachers, AFT/AFL-CIO www.idaho-aft.org/ift.htm<BR>
208-882-9212, 1037 Colt Rd., Moscow, ID 83843<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
-----Original Message-----<BR>
From: vision2020-bounces@moscow.com on behalf of Sam Scripter<BR>
Sent: Sat 12/18/2010 2:35 PM<BR>
To: Moscow Vision 2020<BR>
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Clarification: Re: Coral Reefs: CO2 Source or Sink? Re: Four Levels of Global Warming: A Climate Change Update<BR>
<BR>
Since Nick's piece, with a sentence or so about "coral", I have been<BR>
following<BR>
the ensuing discussion regarding ocean acidification and coral.<BR>
<BR>
But I am puzzled.<BR>
<BR>
Maybe that's because I am not on top of the changing views of "science"<BR>
about the dangers of ocean acidification, caused by carbon dioxide<BR>
increasingly<BR>
dissolving into oceans' waters, from an increasing concentration of carbon<BR>
dioxide in the atmosphere [anthropogenic or not].<BR>
<BR>
I thought -- until recently at least -- that the concern for coral, and<BR>
for shellfish<BR>
at large, was that the chemical shift to increasing acidity in the<BR>
oceans was feared<BR>
to dissolve the shells of some shellfish and perhaps even prevent<BR>
formation of<BR>
shells in other shellfish trying to live.<BR>
<BR>
E.g., some or many shellfish could be put out of existence, "screwing<BR>
up" some<BR>
ecological food chains as well as sources for human food. These are not<BR>
small<BR>
matters!<BR>
<BR>
Am I off base? Has that concern gone away and/or shown to be false alarms?<BR>
<BR>
Or are Nick and the ensuing discussants in particular just choosing to focus<BR>
on whether coral is/are participants in chemical balance repositioning among<BR>
atmospheric, oceanic, and coral carbon?<BR>
<BR>
Sam Scripter<BR>
<BR>
Ted Moffett wrote:<BR>
> Thanks for the response to my question from the post which can be read<BR>
> in full at the website below, which will offer more context:<BR>
><BR>
> <A HREF="http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/2010-December/073255.html">http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/2010-December/073255.html</A><BR>
> --------------------------<BR>
> I have found credible scientific information that relates to my<BR>
> question regarding coral reefs lowering ocean water acidity, though<BR>
> this information does not address coral reef calcium carbonate<BR>
> formation effects on ocean water acidity. It addresses the<BR>
> dissolution of calcium carbonate in the oceans, lowering ocean<BR>
> acidity. Calcium carbonate is a treatment for acid stomach. But this<BR>
> process in the oceans is too slow to stop increasing ocean<BR>
> acidification from billions of tons of human CO2 emissions:<BR>
><BR>
> <A HREF="http://www.elcamino.edu/faculty/tnoyes/Readings/10DR.pdf">http://www.elcamino.edu/faculty/tnoyes/Readings/10DR.pdf</A><BR>
><BR>
> > From website above:<BR>
><BR>
> "Recall that additional carbon dioxide makes ocean water acidic, and<BR>
> that the acid dissolves calcium carbonate ...this neutralizes the acid<BR>
> (the carbonate absorbs it). ...coral are said to "buffer" the ocean."<BR>
><BR>
> This academic source also states "...corals 'permanently' remove CO2<BR>
> from the atmosphere by building their reefs" a statement that could be<BR>
> used to conclude that coral reefs are in total atmospheric CO2 sinks,<BR>
> which is disputed.<BR>
> ------------------------<BR>
> <A HREF="http://www.whoi.edu/OCB-OA/FAQs/">http://www.whoi.edu/OCB-OA/FAQs/</A><BR>
><BR>
> > From website above:<BR>
><BR>
> As the oceans become more acidic, more calcium carbonate minerals<BR>
> underwater will dissolve. Will that offset ocean acidification?<BR>
><BR>
> The dissolution of calcium carbonate minerals in the water column and<BR>
> in the sediments does increase the alkalinity of seawater, which<BR>
> offsets the decreased pH and carbonate ion concentrations associated<BR>
> with ocean acidification. However, as with rock weathering, this<BR>
> process is slow and would take thousands to tens of thousands of years<BR>
> to neutralize all of the CO2 from human activity that is entering the<BR>
> oceans. Over the decades to centuries that affect human communities,<BR>
> these processes are not fast enough to counteract CO2 invasion into<BR>
> the ocean, and so the chemical changes associated with ocean<BR>
> acidification will last for several centuries. - Richard A. Feely,<BR>
> Senior Scientist, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, USA<BR>
> ------------------------------------------<BR>
> Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett<BR>
><BR>
> On 12/17/10, Andreas Schou<ophite@gmail.com> wrote:<BR>
> <BR>
>>> Now I wonder, if coral reefs remove carbon from ocean water, do they<BR>
>>> help to lower ocean water accidification from human sourced CO2<BR>
>>> emissions?<BR>
>>> <BR>
>> Not really. Coral reefs remove carbon from ocean water by constructing<BR>
>> their calcium carbonate exoskeletons; calcium ions, rather than<BR>
>> carbonate ions, create a bottleneck w/r/t how much carbon they can<BR>
>> remove.<BR>
>><BR>
>> -- ACS<BR>
>><BR>
>> <BR>
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