Develop a half-page paper (150 words) addressing all of the points below and bac
ID: 274272 • Letter: D
Question
Develop a half-page paper (150 words) addressing all of the points below and back up your posting with reference and notation from a reliable scientific website (EX: National Geographic, PBS, Discovery, Smithsonian, New Scientist, Nature, Scientific American, Science Daily, New Science, The Guardian, Science News, Biology News, Popular Science, The New York Times Science Section, The Scientist).
Recent research shows that ocean water off southern California has become 2 to 3 degree F warmer over the past four decades, possibly due to the greenhouse effect. This warming has indirectly led to a depletion of nutrients in the water and thus a decline in photosynthetic protists such as diatoms.
What effects is this warming likely to have on life in the oceans?
What effects would the depletion of photosynthetic protists have for the entire planet?
Explanation / Answer
Every year, through the combustion of fossil fuel and many of the industries release approximately 6 billion metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere. Global warming is one of the consequences of these greenhouse gases. Oceans are the largest sinks of carbon dioxide on the earth. Increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the water increases acidity because water forms carbonic acid with carbon dioxide.
Increase in global warming also disrupt the host-pathogen relationships and affect the marine mammals (such as penguins, seals, etc.) negatively. The increase in ocean temperature Increased surface temperatures form a layer of light, which acts a barrier to nutrient upwelling. This reduced to growth of photosynthetic protests and prokaryotes, which was observed in many ocean regions.
Photosynthetic protist play a key role in fixing the atmospheric carbon dioxide. So, reduced population of prostist increases the carbon dioxide levels in the environment, which would further raise the temperatures.
Related Questions
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.