Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I am interested in the experiment: "Swimming in Acid: Understanding Ocean Acidification". After reading background info on Ocean Acidification, I came to know that reduced ocean pH has a negative impact on calcifying marine organisms. However, I am interested in changing the experiment somewhat to study this effect. I am not sure how to proceed. Please help. Thanks very much!

-cosmos7

Cosmos,
This sounds like a very interesting project, and ocean acidification is a great topic to be studying. It seems the carbon dioxide is broken down into several molecules including carbonic acid with causes the lowering of the pH. If the acidification is associated with increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, one idea I thought of was to test to see how much carbon dioxide was needed to alter the pH of a solution. You could introduce something that produced significant amounts of carbon dioxide to water, for example dry ice. And then monitor the pH of the solution as different amounts of carbon dioxide were produced in the water. Good luck with your project!

Matt Badtke

Hi there,

This is a great project, and there are many ways to alter things to make it your own. Some questions you can ask are:
1. Which types of shells are most affected by a lower pH (e.g., mussels, clams, oysters, snails)?
2. Are all shelled organisms (including crabs and shrimp) affected by lower pH, or only those with calcium carbonate shells?
3. How do things change (e.g., dry weight of the shell after treatment) with different pH levels or different lengths of time at the same low pH?

Let us know if you have more questions as you continue with your project!

Heather