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Climate Change and Its Effect on Coral Reefs

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Ralph E. Weston Jr.

Chemistry Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973-5000

J. Chem. Educ., 2000, 77 (12), p 1574

DOI: 10.1021/ed077p1574

Publication Date (Web): December 1, 2000

Section:

History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

The viability of coral reefs has been linked to the extent to which the overlying sea water is supersaturated with respect to calcium carbonate, which in turn depends on the concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide. Projections of a future increase in carbon dioxide emissions indicate that the health of coral reefs may be seriously endangered, and trends in this direction already have been observed. The equilibria involved in this chemical system demonstrate several important concepts in elementary physical chemistry: Henry's law of gas solubility, solubility products of solids, and acid-base equilibria and dissociation constants. The calcium carbonate-water-carbon dioxide system is discussed in terms of these elementary concepts. Then a computer program available on the Internet is used, together with realistic parameters for tropical seawater, to calculate the extent of calcium carbonate supersaturation with the current atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and that predicted for the beginning of the next century.

Keywords (Audience):

High School / Introductory Chemistry

Keywords (Domain):

Environmental Chemistry

Keywords (Subject):

Acids / Bases

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This article has been cited by 2 ACS Journal articles (2 most recent appear below).

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  Journal of Chemical Education2010 87 (2), 168-171
  Topics commonly taught in a general chemistry course can be used to calculate the quantity of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by various human activities. Each calculation begins with the balanced chemical equation for the reaction that ...
  Abstract | Full Text HTML | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links
A Simplified Model To Predict the Effect of Increasing Atmospheric CO2 on Carbonate Chemistry in the Ocean
Brian J. Bozlee and Maria Janebo , Ginger Jahn
Journal of Chemical Education2008 85 (2), 213
- A Simplified Model To Predict the Effect of Increasing Atmospheric CO2 on Carbonate Chemistry in the Ocean
  Brian J. Bozlee and Maria Janebo , Ginger Jahn
  Journal of Chemical Education2008 85 (2), 213
  The chemistry of dissolved inorganic carbon in seawater is reviewed and used to predict the potential effect of rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In agreement with more detailed treatments, we find that calcium carbonate (aragonite) may ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links