Correlation Between Ocean Acidification and Zooplankton in the South Pacific Gyre
The South Pacific Gyre is a naturally occurring carbon sink, meaning that it absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide by dissolving it into the moving surface water.The dissolution of CO2 level will dictate the water’s acidic levels a larger the concentration of dissolved CO2 is known to increase the salt...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | unknown |
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Digital Commons @ DU
2020
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| Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.du.edu/duurj/vol1/iss1/7 https://digitalcommons.du.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=duurj |
| Summary: | The South Pacific Gyre is a naturally occurring carbon sink, meaning that it absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide by dissolving it into the moving surface water.The dissolution of CO2 level will dictate the water’s acidic levels a larger the concentration of dissolved CO2 is known to increase the salt water’s acidity. A great amount of the ocean’s biomass is composed of calcifying organisms,which produce tests or shells made from calcium carbonate CaCO3.The goal of our project is to determine if there is a correlation between the water acidity across various locations, as we sailed through the South Pacific gyre and the biomass and/or biodiversity in those same locations. By studying the connection between zooplankton and acidification will allow for a better understanding of the ocean environment as acidification continues to increase. We conduct nine nighttime and twelve daytime collections which indicated no statistical significance. Our research along the S-282 cruise track was unable to find any positive or negative correlations between pH levels and zooplankton density. |
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