GEOL 150Lg Lecture 23: 23-Case Studies (cont)
Document Summary
Case study 4: ocean acidity varies naturally with surface evaporaion and the addiion of fresh water from rivers and meling ice the absorpion of 50% of co2 emissions from the atmosphere is increasing the acidity of oceans. Co2 dissolves in water and combines to make an acid. The ocean has to maintain a charge balance, so if there"s a buildup of too much of one charge (like +) then it will try to balance it out (like with ions from deformed shells) Water resources: snow and ice pack are important source of water for agriculture of much of south asia. If it happens too fast then there"s looding and the water can"t be stored for human use. Mostly caused by ice meling, and secondly thermal expansion in deep ocean. The future impact of rising sea level depends on the future rate of ghg emissions. The efect of thermal expansion is easy to project.
