A report on Ocean acidification, Carbon cycle, Climate change and Fossil fuel

Estimated change in seawater pH caused by human-created carbon dioxide between the 1700s and the 1990s, from the Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP) and the World Ocean Atlas

Fast carbon cycle showing the movement of carbon between land, atmosphere, and oceans in billions of tons (gigatons) per year. Yellow numbers are natural fluxes, red are human contributions, white are stored carbon. The effects of the slow carbon cycle, such as volcanic and tectonic activity are not included.

Average surface air temperatures from 2011 to 2021 compared to the 1956–1976 average

Since oil fields are located only at certain places on earth, only some countries are oil-independent; the other countries depend on the oil-production capacities of these countries

Here is a detailed image of the full carbon cycle

Detail of anthropogenic carbon flows, showing cumulative mass in gigatons during years 1850-2018 (left) and the annual mass average during 2009-2018 (right).

Change in average surface air temperature since the industrial revolution, plus drivers for that change. Human activity has caused increased temperatures, with natural forces adding some variability.

A petrochemical refinery in Grangemouth, Scotland, UK

NOAA provides evidence for the upwelling of "acidified" water onto the Continental Shelf. In the figure above, note the vertical sections of (A) temperature, (B) aragonite saturation, (C) pH, (D) DIC, and (E) p on transect line 5 off Pt. St. George, California. The potential density surfaces are superimposed on the temperature section. The 26.2 potential density surface delineates the location of the first instance in which the undersaturated water is upwelled from depths of 150 to 200 m onto the shelf and outcropping at the surface near the coast. The red dots represent sample locations.

CO2 concentrations over the last 800,000 years as measured from ice cores (blue/green) and directly (black)

Global surface temperature reconstruction over the last 2000 years using proxy data from tree rings, corals, and ice cores in blue. Directly observed data is in red.

Amount of carbon stored in Earth's various terrestrial ecosystems, in gigatonnes.

Drivers of climate change from 1850–1900 to 2010–2019. There was no significant contribution from internal variability or solar and volcanic drivers.

The Global Carbon Project shows how additions to since 1880 have been caused by different sources ramping up one after another.

The cycle between the atmosphere and the ocean

A portable soil respiration system measuring soil CO2 flux.

concentrations over the last 800,000 years as measured from ice cores (blue/green) and directly (black)

Distribution of (A) aragonite and (B) calcite saturation depth in the global oceans

Diagram showing relative sizes (in gigatonnes) of the main storage pools of carbon on Earth. Cumulative changes (thru year 2014) from land use and emissions of fossil carbon are included for comparison.

In 2020, renewables overtook fossil fuels as the European Union's main source of electricity for the first time.

This map shows changes in the aragonite saturation level of ocean surface waters between the 1880s and the most recent decade (2006–2015). Aragonite is a form of calcium carbonate that many marine animals use to build their skeletons and shells. The lower the saturation level, the more difficult it is for organisms to build and maintain their skeletons and shells. A negative change represents a decrease in saturation.

The rate of global tree cover loss has approximately doubled since 2001, to an annual loss approaching an area the size of Italy.

Here is detailed diagram of the carbon cycle within the ocean

Sea ice reflects 50% to 70% of incoming solar radiation while the dark ocean surface only reflects 6%, so melting sea ice is a self-reinforcing feedback.

Bjerrum plot: Change in carbonate system of seawater from ocean acidification.

Projected global surface temperature changes relative to 1850–1900, based on CMIP6 multi-model mean changes.

Shells of pteropods dissolve in increasingly acidic conditions caused by increased amounts of atmospheric

The sixth IPCC Assessment Report projects changes in average soil moisture that can disrupt agriculture and ecosystems. A reduction in soil moisture by one standard deviation means that average soil moisture will approximately match the ninth driest year between 1850 and 1900 at that location.

A normally-protective shell made thin, fragile and transparent by acidification

Historical sea level reconstruction and projections up to 2100 published in 2017 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program

Drivers of hypoxia and ocean acidification intensification in upwelling shelf systems. Equatorward winds drive the upwelling of low dissolved oxygen (DO), high nutrient, and high dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) water from above the oxygen minimum zone. Cross-shelf gradients in productivity and bottom water residence times drive the strength of DO (DIC) decrease (increase) as water transits across a productive continental shelf.

Carbon is tetrahedrally bonded to oxygen

The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (2021) projects that extreme weather will be progressively more common as the Earth warms.

Demonstrator calling for action against ocean acidification at the People's Climate March (2017).

Knowledge about carbon in the core can be gained by analysing shear wave velocities

Scenarios of global greenhouse gas emissions. If all countries achieve their current Paris Agreement pledges, average warming by 2100 would still significantly exceed the maximum 2 °C target set by the Agreement.

Ocean acidification: mean seawater pH. Mean seawater pH is shown based on in-situ measurements of pH from the Aloha station.

Schematic representation of the overall perturbation of the global carbon cycle caused by anthropogenic activities, averaged from 2010 to 2019.

Coal, oil, and natural gas remain the primary global energy sources even as renewables have begun rapidly increasing.

The pathway by which plastics enter the world's oceans.

Economic sectors with more greenhouse gas contributions have a greater stake in climate change policies.

Carbon stored on land in vegetation and soils is aggregated into a single stock ct. Ocean mixed layer carbon, cm, is the only explicitly modelled ocean stock of carbon; though to estimate carbon cycle feedbacks the total ocean carbon is also calculated.

Most emissions have been absorbed by carbon sinks, including plant growth, soil uptake, and ocean uptake (2020 Global Carbon Budget).

"Present day" (1990s) sea surface anthropogenic {{chem|CO|2}}

Epiphytes on electric wires. This kind of plant takes both CO{{sub|2}} and water from the atmosphere for living and growing.

Since 2000, rising emissions in China and the rest of world have surpassed the output of the United States and Europe.

Vertical inventory of "present day" (1990s) anthropogenic {{chem|CO|2}}

CO{{sub|2}} in Earth's atmosphere if half of global-warming emissions are not absorbed.<ref name="NASA-20151112-ab" /><ref name="NASA-20151112b" /><ref name="NYT-20151110" /><ref name="AP-20151109" /> (NASA computer simulation).

Per person, the United States generates at a far faster rate than other primary regions.

Change in surface {{chem|CO|3|2-}} ion from the 1700s to the 1990s

Academic studies of scientific consensus reflect that the level of consensus correlates with expertise in climate science.

Data has been cherry picked from short periods to falsely assert that global temperatures are not rising. Blue trendlines show short periods that mask longer-term warming trends (red trendlines). Blue dots show the so-called global warming hiatus.

The 2017 People's Climate March took place in hundreds of locations. Shown: the Washington, D.C. march, protesting policies of then-U.S. President Trump.

A NOAA (AOML) in situ {{chem|CO|2}} concentration sensor (SAMI-CO2), attached to a Coral Reef Early Warning System station, utilized in conducting ocean acidification studies near coral reef areas

Tyndall's ratio spectrophotometer (drawing from 1861) measured how much infrared radiation was absorbed and emitted by various gases filling its central tube.

A NOAA (PMEL) moored autonomous {{chem|CO|2}} buoy used for measuring {{chem|CO|2}} concentration and ocean acidification studies

alt=Underwater photograph of branching coral that is bleached white|Ecological collapse. Bleaching has damaged the Great Barrier Reef and threatens reefs worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sos.noaa.gov/datasets/coral-reef-risk-outlook/|title=Coral Reef Risk Outlook|access-date=4 April 2020|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|quote=At present, local human activities, coupled with past thermal stress, threaten an estimated 75 percent of the world's reefs. By 2030, estimates predict more than 90% of the world's reefs will be threatened by local human activities, warming, and acidification, with nearly 60% facing high, very high, or critical threat levels.}}</ref>

alt=Photograph of evening in a valley settlement. The skyline in the hills beyond is lit up red from the fires.|Extreme weather. Drought and high temperatures worsened the 2020 bushfires in Australia.<ref>{{harvnb|Carbon Brief, 7 January|2020}}.</ref>

alt=The green landscape is interrupted by a huge muddy scar where the ground has subsided.|Arctic warming. Permafrost thaws undermine infrastructure and release methane, a greenhouse gas.

alt=An emaciated polar bear stands atop the remains of a melting ice floe.|Habitat destruction. Many arctic animals rely on sea ice, which has been disappearing in a warming Arctic.<ref>{{harvnb|IPCC AR5 WG2 Ch28|2014|p=1596|ps=: "Within 50 to 70 years, loss of hunting habitats may lead to elimination of polar bears from seasonally ice-covered areas, where two-thirds of their world population currently live."}}</ref>

alt=Photograph of a large area of forest. The green trees are interspersed with large patches of damaged or dead trees turning purple-brown and light red.|Pest propagation. Mild winters allow more pine beetles to survive to kill large swaths of forest.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/nature/climatechange.htm|title=What a changing climate means for Rocky Mountain National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=9 April 2020}}</ref>

Environmental migration. Sparser rainfall leads to desertification that harms agriculture and can displace populations. Shown: Telly, Mali (2008).<ref>{{harvnb|Serdeczny|Adams|Baarsch|Coumou|2016}}.</ref>

Agricultural changes. Droughts, rising temperatures, and extreme weather negatively impact agriculture. Shown: Texas, US (2013).<ref>{{harvnb|IPCC SRCCL Ch5|2019|pp=439, 464}}.</ref>

Tidal flooding. Sea-level rise increases flooding in low-lying coastal regions. Shown: Venice, Italy (2004).<ref name="NOAAnuisance">{{cite web|url=http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/nuisance-flooding.html |title=What is nuisance flooding? |author=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date=April 8, 2020}}</ref>

Storm intensification. Bangladesh after Cyclone Sidr (2007) is an example of catastrophic flooding from increased rainfall.<ref>{{harvnb|Kabir|Khan|Ball|Caldwell|2016}}.</ref>

Heat wave intensification. Events like the June 2019 European heat wave are becoming more common.<ref>{{harvnb|Van Oldenborgh|Philip|Kew|Vautard|2019}}.</ref>

The main cause of ocean acidification is human burning of fossil fuels.

- Ocean acidification

Burning fossil fuels for energy production creates most of these emissions.

- Climate change

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere had increased nearly 52% over pre-industrial levels by 2020, forcing greater atmospheric and Earth surface heating by the Sun.

- Carbon cycle

The increased carbon dioxide has also increased the acidity of the ocean surface by about 30% due to dissolved carbon dioxide, carbonic acid and other compounds, and is fundamentally altering marine chemistry.

- Carbon cycle

Natural processes on Earth, mostly absorption by the ocean, can only remove a small part of this.

- Fossil fuel

Although methane leaks are significant, the burning of fossil fuels is the main source of greenhouse gas emissions causing global warming and ocean acidification.

- Fossil fuel

Ocean acidification has occurred previously in Earth's history, and the resulting ecological collapse in the oceans had long-lasting effects on global carbon cycling and climate.

- Ocean acidification

These include sea level rise, and warmer, more acidic oceans.

- Climate change

The sediments, including fossil fuels, freshwater systems, and non-living organic material.

- Carbon cycle

Ocean acidification has been compared to anthropogenic climate change and called the "evil twin of global warming" and "the other CO2 problem".

- Ocean acidification

Afterwards, the ocean's overturning circulation distributes it deep into the ocean's interior, where it accumulates over time as part of the carbon cycle.

- Climate change