Greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), have a significant impact on the marine environment. Elevated levels of CO2 emissions can lead to various changes in marine life and ecosystems, including a phenomenon known as ocean acidification.

Here's how this process works and its effects:

1. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions and Ocean Acidification:When humans burn fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, and natural gas) for energy, significant amounts of CO2 are released into the atmosphere. A portion of this atmospheric CO2 dissolves in the surface waters of the oceans, leading to a series of chemical reactions:

Carbonate ions are essential for many marine organisms, particularly those that build calcium carbonate shells and skeletons, such as coral reefs, mollusks, and some types of plankton.

Effects of Ocean Acidification on Marine Life and Ecosystems:

Addressing ocean acidification requires global efforts to reduce CO2 emissions and mitigate climate change. By curbing greenhouse gas emissions, we can reduce the extent of ocean acidification and its negative impacts on marine ecosystems and the species that depend on them.

Dr Gaurav H Tandon thank you for your contribution to the discussion

Marine species are responding to the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change in expected ways. Some responses include pole ward and deeper distributional shifts, declines in calcification, increased abundance of warm-water species, and loss of entire ecosystems. The ocean has become more acidic over the past few decades because of increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, which dissolves in the water. Higher acidity affects the balance of minerals in the water, which can make it more difficult for certain marine animals to build their protective skeletons or shells. Carbon pollution is changing the ocean's chemistry, slowing its ability to uptake CO2, making it more acidic, and harming shellfish and other marine life we depend on. Because of human-driven increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, there is more CO2 dissolving into the ocean. The ocean's average pH is now around 8.1, which is basic but as the ocean continues to absorb more CO2, the pH decreases and the ocean becomes more acidic. Ocean acidification is a chemical reaction where sea water absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Once dissolved, the carbon dioxide reacts with seawater. The excess carbon dioxide currently in our atmosphere has meant that absorption has increased. This lowers the pH, making the water more acidic. Some of the carbon dioxide stays as dissolved gas, but much of it gets turned into other things. Photosynthesis by tiny marine plants (phytoplankton) in the sunlit surface waters turns the carbon into organic matter. Many organisms use carbon to make calcium carbonate, a building material of shells and skeletons. Marine animals utilize carbon in a variety of ways. Photosynthesis by phytoplankton is the most effective approach, in which carbon dioxide and sunlight are combined to form sugars and a waste product of oxygen. Carbon can also be found in the shells of animals in the form of calcium carbonate. Rising water temperatures, acidification, and low oxygen levels can combine with natural ocean cycles to create extreme marine events. Marine heat waves, dead zones, and coral bleaching are just a few examples of these events, which are projected to become more common and severe. Ocean acidification results from an increased concentration of hydrogen ions and a reduction in carbonate ions due to the absorption of increased amounts of CO2. Clams, mussels, crabs, corals, and other sea life rely on carbonate ions to grow their shells and thrive. Ocean acidification is mainly caused by carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere dissolving into the ocean. This leads to a lowering of the water's pH, making the ocean more acidic. Carbon dioxide is being produced faster than nature can remove it, so increasing amounts are being absorbed by the ocean. For good reason, ocean acidification is sometimes called “osteoporosis of the sea.” Ocean acidification can create conditions that eat away at the minerals used by oysters, clams, lobsters, shrimp, coral reefs, and other marine life to build their shells and skeletons. Human health is also a concern. Ocean acidification can negatively affect marine life, causing organisms' shells and skeletons made from calcium carbonate to dissolve. The more acidic the ocean, the faster the shells dissolve.