PLANET NEWS

UCLA Oceanography ESS 15 Newsletter Winter Quarter February 2014

The Problem:
Many people in the world today deny the existence of global warming. This article aims to scientifically explain the effects that carbon dioxide emissions has on our atmosphere and our oceans, so that you may form your own decisions on the environmental crisis.

Democracy has created an environment where an opinion is perceived to hold as much weight as a proven fact.
- Paulus McBurnett

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Whats so bad about global warming? A: It causes long-term, permanent changes to the planet, our very home. Q: What can I do to help? A: If everyone in the world just drives one hour less a week, we can reduce our carbon admissions by a lot.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions Today:

Three years ago, the atmosphere reached a carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration of over 388 parts per million versus 288 parts per million less than two hundred years ago. With thousands of years of human history, about twenty-five percent of carbon dioxide emissions occurred within the last few generations.

In This Issue

The Problem Carbon Dioxide Emissions Today Global Warming Ocean Acidification Preview of Next Issue

Global Warming
When considering the theory of global warming, one must take in account the input and output energy from the sun to the Earth. Not only must one consider the energy budget, but also factors that alter the rate of energy, such as the changes in atmospheric composition, the shrinking sizes of the ice sheets that are utilized to stabilize and regulate the surface temperature of the Earth, and the Greenhouse Effect, which altogether contributes to the calculations of the Global
Percentage breakdown of Earths Energy Budget (if Earth was a perfect reflector)

Energy Balance of the Earth. The Global Energy Balance equation is [(1-) (S)]/4 = eT4, where is the albedo of the Earth, S is the solar constant, e is the emissivity, is the Stefan-Boltzmann Constant, and T is the temperature of the Earth. To delineate further, the albedo consists of the reflectivity of the surface of the planet. The solar constant is the amount of solar energy that is hitting the Earth. The constant is a physical constant that calibrates the proportion of the intensity of wavelengths to temperature. Finally, I will explain emissivity in the next head line.

The Sun Shines on Earth

Almost everyday in everyones lives we experience daylight as an indicator for us to wake up and begin our day. We take the Earth and the sun for granted, but their relationship actually does a lot to regulate our climate. Scientists study this relationship to learn about climate change. When the sun shines in, solar energy is put into the Earth. The energy that is not absorbed into the Earth is reflected by the Earths albedo, which is created by the clouds, Earths surface, and the atmosphere. Emissivity is also something to take into account when considering how much sunlight is reflected off the Earth. Emissivity is the variable in which gives off more realistic results, because it is a measure of the intensity of sunlight reflected off the Earth. It ranges from 0 (perfect absorber) to 1 (perfect reflector). This variable prevents the scientist from assuming that the Earth is a perfect reflector (also called blackbody emitter), because in reality it is not. Much like a light bulb, the emissivity is the opacity of the Earth, or how much sunlight the Earth radiates out given that its lightened up absorbed by the suns light. However, greenhouse gases hinder this release out into space. Greenhouse gases, mostly carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapor(H2O), methane (CH4), ozone (O3), and nitrous oxide (N2O), creates a layer that absorbs the radiation from Earth, thus keeping it warmer than it should. So, as greenhouse gas concentrations arise from factors such as fossil fuels, our Earth can burn up and have weather disasters. This is why the Earth becomes warmer, because the greenhouse gases form a layer that is similar to a lid on a pot of boiling water.

Drawing that differentiates the affectivity of the albedo depending on the setting of the surface of the Earth

Two comic strips of animals reacting to global warming, one being humorous and the other having a true but ironic observation

Other Factors to Consider: When Absorbed

What about the sunlight that is absorbed into the Earth? About half of the sunlight is

People in general feel that the objects and things in their lives are eternal, when theyre not. When you see a full moon, how many times will you see it again before you die? Five? Six? You never consider how many opportunities are lost and take things for granted.
- Paulus McBurnett

absorbed by the land and oceans, and it can come out in the form of conduction, being carried to the clouds through water vapor, and, just as mentioned before about emissivity, radiation that radiates the sunlight back to space. Because this radiation contributes to more than half of the outgoing energy that is absorbed by the Earth, radiation is heavily relied on. However, because of the Greenhouse Gas Effect, radiation is stalled and thus the Earth is becoming more unable to release energy back out into space successfully with rising concentrations of greenhouse gases. Now isnt that scary! The intensity of the sunlight towards the Earth is also dependent of the surface area that is illuminated. If a small area is illuminated, the temperature would increase much more quickly than a large area because sunlight is focused on the smaller area. Therefore, if the area of the ice sheets are large then it will be more difficult for them to melt. Also, ice sheets reflect the sunlight that spreads over the Arctic. However, because it has been melting, less light is being reflected and more heat is being trapped into the Earth. That is why the melting of ice sheets through global warming is very problematic in todays society.

Image showing suns rays across different latitudes

Ocean Acidification
Many people today have heard of the phenomenon of global warning. They also know that it has something or another to do with the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. But less often we hear about the evil twin to global warming: ocean acidification. Like its name suggests, ocean acidification is the phenomenon where the ocean increase in acidity because of the oceans absorption of CO2. When CO2 and water combine, a chemical reaction causes the release of hydrogen ions, the particle that determines acidity. Ocean acidification has detrimental effects on the ocean environment. Many important organisms such as plankton and coral reefs are integral to the marine food web. Without them, many marine animals, such as fishes and lobsters, will become extinct. Although the effects of ocean acidification are catastrophic, there are ways to reverse it. The first step is to limit carbon dioxide emission to decrease oceanic uptake of CO2. Then, work must be done to remove the CO2 already present in the water. A global, cooperative effort is required if we are to save our oceans.

The Carbonate Buffer Equation

Carbonate Buffer
Carbon dioxide, carbonic acid (H2CO3), bicarbonate ion (HCO3-), and carbonate ion (CO32-) are the four forms in which CO2 can exist in the ocean. As shown in the equation, these forms are connected by a chain reaction. While carbon dioxide contributes to ocean acidification, it does so indirectlyonly when it reacts with water does H+ or hydrogen ions gets released. Also notice the double arrows in the above equation, showing that each step in the chain reaction is readily reversible. As the equation suggests, carbonate and bicarbonate ions acts as a hydrogen ion absorber, thus decreasing the rate of acidification. If that is the case, then why is acidification such a big deal? The problem arises when carbonate ions in the ocean get used up and there isnt enough to drive the backwards reaction. In other words the hydrogen ions will remain in the ocean, causing pH levels to fall. That is why the more carbon dioxide there is in water, the more acidic the water. Acidic water is dangerous for organisms because the hydrogen ions interfere with the functioning of enzymes, proteins that keep organisms healthy and alive.
Top: Cartoon showing effects of acidified oceans on mollusks. Bottom: Pictures showing the same thing.

Carbon Pumping
The carbon pump is the biological-driven cycle of carbon dioxide in the ocean. Photosynthesis is a process where carbon dioxide is taken from the environment and gets converted into energy and oxygen. On land, plants are the ones that photosynthesize, but there are microscopic creatures called phytoplankton in the oceans that perform this process as well. These organisms drive the carbon pump, regulating the oceans acidity, but ironically, ocean acidification is disrupting their function. Thus, we cannot entirely depend on photosynthetic organisms to solve the problem of acidification.
Graph showing projections of pH and carbon dioxide in the oceans in the next hundred years.

Ocean Ecosystem
Many organisms in the ocean rely on calcium carbonate (CaCO3) to form their exoskeletons or shells. Examples are coral reefs, lobsters and clams. These organisms also form the base of many food webs in the ocean, meaning that predators such as seals and many fishes rely on them to survive. Also, coral reefs are home to many ocean species and the destruction of these habitats leave these organisms defenseless. Due to ocean acidification, many hard-bodied organisms face dissolution. Recall that carbonate acts as a hydrogen ion absorber. When hydrogen ions are in the water, they attract carbonate, thus diminishing the available carbonate for calcium carbonate formation. Even worse, hydrogen ions also strip carbonate from existing calcium carbonate, literally dissolving the shells of clams and lobsters, as well as the body of reefs. The level of pH indicates the concentration of hydrogen ions in the ocean. As the pH of the ocean decreases, the ocean is becoming more acidic. Since the pH scale is logarithmic, a decrease from pH eight to seven means the hydrogen ions concentration increased ten times. To put this into perspective, lets take a real life scenario. Within the next ten years, pH levels are expected to decrease by 0.2. A seemingly small drop translates to a whooping thirty-seven percent increase in hydrogen ion concentration. And all these hydrogen ions are competing with calcium for carbonates in the ocean.

Preview of Next Issue

Just one month ago, an unprecedented blizzard attacked New York, causing blackouts and property damages. Many people jumped at the opportunity to scoff at global warming in the face of record low temperatures. However, extreme cold and warm weather is consistent with the modeled effects of global warming. The warming of the earth increases the effects of evaporation, worsening precipitation weather such as hurricanes and the New York blizzard. We must also remember that global warming has to do with average temperature increase across the planet. As a result, even if you hear about extremely cold temperatures, global warming is still happening. If you still express doubt about climate change, join us for our next issue when we describe wind currents and how global warming affects it.

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