How is the ocean both a "carbon sink" and a "carbon source"?

One of the things related to the oceans that is making climate change worse is the albedo effect, especially at the polar regions. What happens is that the polar ice caps usually reflect the sunlight and re-cool itself overnight when it isn't as hot, and there is no sunlight. Now that it is beginning to warm up, the ocean water starts to show. The ocean is a very dark color compared to ice and snow, therefore it absorbs the sun and then at night, releases the heat, therefore the ice caps are melting faster than ever. This also cause the sea level to rise. - Emily https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZovcCxftAY


 Oceans absorb more than a quarter of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) that is put into the air by humans, making it the largest active carbon sink. It was also found that in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean, (1991-2000) there was a higher respiration rate than in photosynthesis, meaning that the ocean was releasing carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere, and this happens in many oceans making it a carbon source. - Henry http://www.i-sis.org.uk/OceanCarbonSink.php
The ocean is a carbon sink when carbon dioxide dissolves and sinks down. The ocean naturally has a cycle to contain it and rid itself of excess carbon. Carbon can off-gas at the ocean surface or be incorporated into the bodies of coral reefs and come out as limestone. But now extra carbon is sent into the atmosphere and later sinks into the ocean. This disrupts the cycle and causes the ocean to acidify with Carbonic acid, which causes things to die, which then causes the cycle to be disrupted even more and make things worse. - Ryan


The ocean is the world's largest carbon sink. The oceans store carbon dissolved in seawater, in coral reefs, and in ocean plant and algal life. When the ocean plants and algae die, that adds organic matter (carbon) to the ocean. - Alan

The ocean is always absorbing more and more carbon, and that’s not good. Because of the carbon that has collected in the ocean, the ocean is acidifying and making life harder on the animal life that lives there. If the ocean becomes too acidic, then we will lose much of our sea life, which will destroy the entire ocean ecosystem. - Josh

 The ocean is a carbon sink. Which means the ocean stores any carbon it can in it, but the high amount of carbon in the air is now turning the ocean to acid. - Piper

 The ocean is a huge bowl of carbon because it absorbs carbon from the atmosphere and stores it. - CJ
The ocean is a carbon “source” when fish and other animals breath out CO2 and there is not enough phytoplankton and subterranean to absorb this carbon.  Because of this the carbon that would have been absorbed instead enters the atmosphere.  These organisms are killed because of man-made disasters such as oil spills, pollution, acidification etc.
The ocean is a carbon “sink” when carbon dioxide sinks into the ocean and dissolves. This can only occur however when there is minimal pollution and acidification. - Aidan

 In addition to carbon dioxide dissolving in the ocean, as organisms like plankton and coral grow in the ocean, they absorb sunlight AND carbon dioxide, making the ocean a carbon sink. Dissolved Carbon Dioxide also makes the oceans more acidic. However after that, the carbon dioxide from respiration could also escape as gas from the ocean surface. - Owen

 The ocean is filling with carbon and is acidifying. The ocean currently holds most of the world’s carbon. This makes it a carbon sink. The ocean is also a carbon source because when the fish and plants decompose and when plants and animals respire, they release carbon, which can escape the ocean's surface as gas.    - Husdon
The ocean mostly holds carbon, but when it is stirred by currents, it can release it. - Leo




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How is the biosphere both a "carbon source" and a "carbon sink"?

The biosphere has many ways to be a carbon sink. One of the reasons is that the forests collectively are a HUGE carbon sink. The problem is when we cut down forests, that turns them into a carbon source. All the carbon stored in those ginormous trees is released into the atmosphere.  - Emily The biosphere is a very important part of climate change. The biosphere is all the living things, above and below the earth’s surface. All of the plants in the biosphere take in carbon in order to do photosynthesis and is therefore it is a carbon sink. However, when plants die and animals breathe out and release excrement they are putting carbon into the atmosphere and are therefore a carbon source. - Owen All living things are made up of carbon and also store carbon and take in carbon. For example, if you were to bury an antelope its body would start to break down, releasing carbon. So, while it is alive it is a carbon sink, but when it dies it can become a carbon source. The same thing wo...
Read more

How do farmers make climate change worse?

Negative impacts of farming: 1. Factory farming highly increases the amount of air pollution. Over 37% of methane emissions come from factory farming. Methane has a global warming potential 20 times higher than carbon dioxide. 2. Deforestation is a big problem. In just the United States, over 260 million acres of forests have been diminished in order to have crop fields. Forests help as a carbon sink so to have them taken away is a big problem. - Henry http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/factory-farming-is-killing-the-environment/ One reason farmers are making climate change worse is that when farmers till the soil for their crops, it will and does release carbon into the atmosphere. An example of this is when big harvesting and farming companies , go to the fields with their big tractors, they began to till massive amounts of soil, therefore releasing large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. The tilling is also depleting the amount of organic matter. This past...
Read more

What are some of the ways that climate change will affect farmers?

Farmers will first be affected when the average temperatures rise. They will be affected by this because their less adaptable plants which can only grow in certain conditions will no longer be able to live. As climate change continues, they will have fewer crop options because of this. Because it is happening on a global scale, the cost of food will go up, and although they are making more money per product they will be growing less produce. - Owen Climate change is affecting farmers by destroying the soil, the air, and the water. There will also be dry soil from droughts and soil being tilled and over worked. Our earth will become so hot and dry we won’t be able to function and grow food. Now I’m not saying that it’s all farmers fault, but they make a huge impact. - Piper Climate change makes planting much harder. Before climate change, the seasons were far more consistent and that made planting much easier. When the winter lasts for two more months less than it should have, the...
Read more