One of the most captivating lectures we have covered thus far, in my opinion, is that of acids and bases. I have been taught this concept plenty of times before, but it had never made me contemplate how much it affects us beyond the pH levels of everyday household items. This is why I decided to read the article, “Mussel Power: How Ocean Acidification Is Changing Shells.” In class, I got a glimpse of just how important pH levels are when trying to determine the status of our environment, in this case our oceans. When I think about global warming and carbon emissions I immediately picture our ozone layer, or air quality never really thinking about how it directly affects our oceans and its inhabitants.
The article, by Susan Fitzer, explores …show more content…
Additionally, Fitzer, goes on to add that she “co- published a study” in which she simulated the ocean conditions of 2100 to analyze the effects it would have on mussels and she discovered that the “shells did not grow as large and were harder and more brittle.” This in turn greatly affects not only the creatures themselves as they become easy targets for predators and more fragile to their environments, but also those who depend on them economically and as a food source. Fitzer then introduces a new study that went further than the first to analyze and understand just how these marine organisms continue to make their shells despite the acidic pH level present in their home. Mussels, explains Fitzer, “take up the carbonates and calcium in sea water through their tissue and convert them into a substance known as amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC). They essentially move this substance to the correct location in their body and convert it into a harder substance called crystalline calcium carbonate (CCC), which comprises the bulk of the shell. But they also keep some carbonate in ACC form, which they use for repair purposes – not unlike the way humans grow bones.” The study found that due to the minimal availability