PRSCT Project Example
Ocean Acidification (by a former IB 532 student in the OMST program - the assigned audience in that
term was specifically K-12 students)
Open with title and picture that I took. Saltwater fish tank video playing. Footage from my principal's tank at his
house.
F:\00 UIUC 18-25\00 IB\TEACHING TOOL\SAMPLE PROJECT VIDEO.mkv
Ocean acidification negatively impacts sea life and is the result of increased anthropogenic carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere. In general, the increased amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is lowering the pH of our oceans.
Acidification would imply that the oceans are acidic when actually seawater remains slightly basic. Ocean water
pH is estimated to be 8.17 in 1750. The current pH is 8.06 and is expected to drop as low as 7.93. (Kawahata,
H. et al, 2019)
How do we know there is more CO2 in the atmosphere? Carbon dioxide levels are measured at the Mona Loa
Observatory in Hawaii. These measurements began in 1958 and were used to generate the Keeling curve. This
curve shows the seasonal fluctuation in CO2, but the consistent increase as well. This graph includes ice core
data along with the Keeling curve data. The ice core dates back to the Industrial Revolution around 1760.
Image will be projected on the green screen behind me.
(Scribbler, n.d.)
In this next graph, you can see the Keeling curve aside 2 other important sets of data – the green line represents
dissolved CO2 levels near the Mona Loa Observatory and the blue line represents the pH of the seawater in this
same location since 1958.
One question you may be asking is – how do we know that ocean acidification is the result CO2 and not other
atmospheric gases. Other atmospheric gases of concern could be oxygen (21%), nitrogen (78%), and hydrogen
(trace). In this series of demonstrations, I will show that CO2 is the only one of these gases that impacts the pH
of the seawater.
Each of these cups contains simulated seawater and Universal indicator.
Each of the various gases will be generated by a reaction in the test tube and bubble through the
seawater in the beakers.
As you can see, the only reaction which generates a color change in the universal indicator is the CO2.
So, why does this matter? About 25% of the anthropogenic CO2 is absorbed by the oceans. (Urry et al., 2017)
When CO2 dissolves in water, carbonate ions form and release hydrogen ions from the water molecule. An
intermediate, carbonic acid also forms. The release of these hydrogen ions are the key to the problem. The
hydrogen ions and calcium ions dissolved in the sea water compete for the carbonate ions that are now
abundant. The carbonate now produces bicarbonate instead of calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is the
important material used in shells, corals, and exoskeletons of sea life. In addition, preexisting shells, corals, and
exoskeletons are dissolved as the carbonate ions bond with the newly abundant H ions.
(Biochemlife, 2018)
In summary –
Human activities release CO2 which the oceans absorb.
This changes the oceans’ chemistry
Carbonate binds to H ions instead of calcium
Calcium carbonate is less available for marine organisms of which most or filter feeders and plankton.
(Image of pteropod on green screen.)
Of greatest concern is the pteropod. Pteropods are a major component of plankton - the basis for aquatic food
chains and webs. In some locations, pteropods number in the thousands per m3. Most of these find their niche in
cool or cold arctic water. And, guess what, CO2 dissolves best in colder waters, increasing the hydrogen ions,
and making less carbonate available for the construction of these microscopic shells.
In this final demonstration, I would like to show you how acidic waters can dissolve previously formed shells.
You will see 4 containers – 2 contain acid and 2 are the control. Each container has universal indicator and
exactly 3.00g of crushed coral to start. There is a total volume of 70mL of simulated sea water and 5 mL of
hydrochloric acid or 5 mL of additional sea water. We will examine these over the period of a week. We will
examine the loss of calcium carbonate from the coral.
This investigation shows that existing shells can weaken and no longer protect or support life.
Due to anthropogenic CO2, ocean acidification will deplete calcium supplies in the oceans. Calcium will
become a limiting factor and competition for this resource has the potential to change the ocean landscape and
have detrimental effects on aquatic food chains that depend on these organisms.
Conclude with pictures from the lab and data. My own pictures.
Biochemlife (2018). File:Ocean Acidification Infographic.jpg - Wikimedia Commons. [online]
Commons.wikimedia.org. Available at: [Accessed 7 Feb. 2019].
Caldeira, K. and Wickett, M. (2003). Anthropogenic carbon and ocean pH. Nature, 425(6956), pp.365-365.
Carolina Investigations for AP Environmental Science - Ocean Acidification. (2014). [ebook] Burlington, NC:
Carolina Biological Supply Company. Available at: http://file:///C:/Users/holmmae/Desktop/Global%20sustain
%20IB532/PRTT%20materials/Ocean%20acid%20Carolina%20lab.pdf [Accessed 5 Feb. 2019].
Erickson, B. and Crews, T. (2019). From Dissolution to Solution. The Science Teacher, 086(05), pp.56-63.
Hunt B., Strugnell J., Bednarsek N., Linse K., Nelson R. J., Pakhomov E., Seibel B., Steinke D. & Würzberg L.
(2010). "Poles Apart: The “Bipolar” Pteropod Species Limacina helicina Is Genetically Distinct Between the
Arctic and Antarctic Oceans". PLoS ONE 5(3): e9835. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009835.
Kawahata, H., Fujita, K., Iguchi, A., Inoue, M., Iwasaki, S., Kuroyanagi, A., Maeda, A., Manaka, T., Moriya,
K., Takagi, H., Toyofuku, T., Yoshimura, T. and Suzuki, A. (2019). Perspective on the response of marine
calcifiers to global warming and ocean acidification—Behavior of corals and foraminifera in a high CO2 world
“hot house”. Progress in Earth and Planetary Science, 6(1).
Orr, J., Fabry, V., Aumont, O., Bopp, L., Doney, S., Feely, R., Gnanadesikan, A., Gruber, N., Ishida, A., Joos,
F., Key, R., Lindsay, K., Maier-Reimer, E., Matear, R., Monfray, P., Mouchet, A., Najjar, R., Plattner, G.,
Rodgers, K., Sabine, C., Sarmiento, J., Schlitzer, R., Slater, R., Totterdell, I., Weirig, M., Yamanaka, Y. and
Yool, A. (2005). Anthropogenic ocean acidification over the twenty-first century and its impact on calcifying
organisms. Nature, 437(7059), pp.681-686.
Scribbler, R. (n.d.). The Keeling Curve | robertscribbler. [online] Robertscribbler.com. Available
at: https://robertscribbler.com/tag/the-keeling-curve/ [Accessed 6 Feb. 2019].
Urry, L., Cain, M., Wasserman, S., Minorsky, P. and Reece, J. (2017). Campbell biology in focus with
MasteringBiology. 2nd ed. Pearson, pp.39-40.
