i need answer for 2B Acidic Soils Bio 240 Ecology Coral Reefs and Exercise 2A: G
ID: 272473 • Letter: I
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i need answer for 2B
Acidic Soils Bio 240 Ecology Coral Reefs and Exercise 2A: Geographic Range of Coral Reefs 1. Describe the global distribution of coral reefs, include latitude and longitude of the range. What is the proximity of reefs to land and the open ocean? 2. What does this implicate as the environmental conditions that coral reefs require? 3. What is the optimum temperature for coral reefs? 4. Will seasonal variations affect the health of coral reefs? Why or why not? 5. What depth do coral reefs favor? Why? 6. What is the optimum aragonite saturation level for coral reef formation? 7. What is the lower limit of saturation that coral reefs will still form? 8. Why is this mineral so important to the formation of coral reefs? Exercise 2B: Threats to Coral Reefs: Anthropogenic Impacts If carbonate is tied up to create the buffer bicarbonate, how does this affect the formation of coral reefs? Think about the aragonite saturation levels necessary for reef formation. 1. From what you have learned, describe how changes in the Carbon Cycle influence the survivorship and formation of coral reefs. 2. Exercise 3A-Design your own experiment: Effect of changing pH on soil/runoff Question: Hypothesis: Prediction:Explanation / Answer
Ans 1
Effect of bicarbonate to formation of coral reef
In seawater, there are several reactions that can occur between carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H2O), carbonic acid (H2CO3), bicarbonate ion (HCO3-), and carbonate ion (CO32-).
Reaction does create carbonate ions and lowers pH:
CO2 + H2O ? H2CO3 ? H+ + HCO3- ? 2H+ + CO32-
However, at the current ocean pH level, another reaction also occurs that consumes carbonate ions and does not change pH:
CO2 + H2O + CO32- ? 2HCO3-
The second equation describes the reaction that occurs most often in the oceans, but the first reaction also occurs, so the resulting overall change is a decrease in carbonate and a decrease in pH.
The formation of skeletons or shells in coral reef is an internal process where most organisms appear to convert bicarbonate to carbonate to form calcium carbonate.
Carbonate “hardeners” to increase the water's alkalinity and maintain the pH between 8.0 and 8.4. Devices called “calcium reactors” bubble CO2 gas through crushed calcium carbonate (usually crushed coral), which releases calcium and carbonate ions into the salt water, providing the high-alkalinity, calcium-rich waters that aquarium corals and other calcifying organisms need to continue healthy growth.
Aragonite saturation
Surface tropical seawaters are generally supersaturated with respect to the carbonate mineral aragonite from which marine organisms construct their shells and frameworks. At deeper water depths, seawater becomes undersaturated and these minerals begin to dissolve, imparting an important control (amongst other factors) on the distribution of coral reefs. The degree to which seawater is saturated with respect to these minerals as 'saturation state' and denote it using the Greek term ? (omega).
The effects of ocean acidification on calcification rate appears not to be directly related to changes in pH, but instead to corresponding changes in the degree to which seawater is supersaturated with respect to the aragonite.
Ans 2
Coral reefs play a critical role in the carbon cycle of our planet. Coral reef taking calcium ions and dissolved carbon dioxide from the water and turning it into calcium carbonate forming their hard skeletons. This allows our oceans to become a sink for the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Increases Carbon dioxide continues to increase in our atmosphere, it is also pulled down into our oceans. Coral reefs act as a sink for carbon dioxide, but they cannot uptake it all and the ocean is becoming more acidic due to increased dissolved carbon dioxide levels. As this happens, coral reefs are at risk of having their skeletons dissolve.
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