Michelle Carreto

GEOL 012
10-05-17

Ocean's Seawater Chemistry

a. Law, Cliff S., et al. Ocean acidification in New Zealand waters: trends and impacts
New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research p. 1-41
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00288330.2017.1374983?scroll=top&n
eedAccess=true
b. The article I chose to focus on is about Ocean acidification in New Zealand and the
impact it has on the surrounding environment and most importantly the major taxa
that inhabit the waters there. In, Ocean acidification in New Zealand waters: trends
and impacts by Cliff S. Law and many others, the authors stuck to the topic of ocean
acidification but also went into detail about the current pH of the New Zealand waters
and speculation of what might happen if it continues to experience acidification. The
article explains the changes in the carbonate system in New Zealand waters that are
increasing and the young waters around New Zealand are going to be affected by the
rising CO2 levels shortly. Certain taxa like the Microbes who play a critical role in
organic matter decomposition may also be contributing to the ocean acidification
which only makes matters more difficult. Macroalgae are very prominent in New
Zealand waters as they help provide habitat in the water which makes them
vulnerable to ocean acidification due to the declining pH. Many other taxa like the
Lophophorates, Sponges, Molluscs, and Echinoderms thrive in the waters of New
Zealand who are all very sensitive to changes in seawater pH. The article pointed out
that many coral research for ocean acidification is done on shallow-water tropical
waters but research for the article was done using deep-sea cold-water corals. The
corals also showed to be potentially vulnerable to the ocean acidification as well. It is
important that we do more research so that we can help protect our waters and the
organisms inside.
c. The article goes on explaining the limitations that the research may come across like
how the pH of coastal waters is a lot more variable driven with many factors coming
into play like temperature, biological uptake and respiration, terrestrial run-off and
pollution. Also, many of the research is projecting the future pH in the ocean around
New Zealand which is currently limited by the lack of biogeochemistry. I also read
that many of their observations of the effect on the taxa in New Zealand was done
through laboratory manipulation which, although very good, cannot fully stimulate an
environmental experiment.