The Basics on Alkalinity

Acidification is about more than just pH! This post will explain how seawater ‘alkalinity’ affects the balance of all of the carbon-containing molecules (aka ‘carbon species’) in this National Resource Council graphic.

If you’ve been following this blog, you’re probably pretty familiar with ocean acidification by now, but figuring out what’s going on with the ocean chemistry is not actually as simple as just measuring the pH.

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The Beginnings of Ocean Acidification Studies in Mexican Waters

The 2016 West Coast Ocean Acidification (WCOA) cruise is the fifth of its kind, and the research we are performing aboard the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown has been over a decade in the making. It has been eleven years since NOAA PMEL scientists Dr. Richard Feely and Dr. Chris Sabine organized the first planning meeting in 2005 for the 2007 West Coast Ocean Acidification cruise.

Carbonate: The Building Block of Marine Life

Seashells use calcium carbonate to build their shells. Photo Credit: Melissa Ward

Next time you are walking along a beach, pay attention to how many unique types of shells you see: scallops, gastropods (snails), oysters, pteropods, and many other marine organisms rely on shells for protection and housing. Just as humans build our homes from brick and wood, these marine organisms build their homes out of a chemical compound called calcium carbonate.