Video Our role in ocean acidification

TLF ID M008891

This is a colour video clip of marine scientist Abby Smith discussing the effects of increased levels of carbon dioxide on marine animals. Smith is a teacher and researcher at the University of Otago, New Zealand.





Educational details

Educational value
  • Ocean acidification is the lowering of ocean pH due to increased absorption of carbon dioxide. Over the last 200 years, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased, mainly due to human activities such as deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. Much of this increased carbon dioxide is being absorbed by the oceans, and it is changing the pH, a measure of acidity and alkalinity.
  • As oceans become more acidic, there is less calcium carbonate available in them. Calcium carbonate is required by many marine animals, including corals, crabs, oysters and bryozoans, to produce their shells and skeletons. Even small changes in ocean pH can have a large effect on these marine animals, and the increasing acidity is threatening their survival.
  • Carbon dioxide is a type of greenhouse gas, which is a gas that has a role in maintaining the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere. When the volume of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases, the amount of heat trapped by the atmosphere also increases. A sustained increase in carbon dioxide emissions may have disastrous effects for the natural world, including increased ocean acidity, the melting of ice sheets and changed weather patterns.
  • Abby Smith is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Otago, New Zealand. She is a biogeochemist, which means she studies the interactions between chemical, geological and biological processes in the natural world. She is involved in bryozoan research, investigating the effects of ocean acidification.
Learning area
  • Science

Other details

Contributors
  • Contributor
  • Name: University of Waikato
  • Organization: University of Waikato
  • Description: content provider
  • Address: NEW ZEALAND
  • URL: http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz
  • Publisher
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organization: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Description: Publisher
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.esa.edu.au/
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
Access profile
  • Generic
Learning Resource Type
  • Video
Rights
  • © Education Services Australia Ltd 2011 (except where otherwise indicated). You may copy, communicate and adapt this metadata for non-commercial educational purposes provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the material.