How pollution is changing the ocean's chemistry | Triona McGrath

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4.1 • 11.9K Ratings

🗓️ 29 May 2017

⏱️ 9 minutes

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Summary

As we keep pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, more of it is dissolving in the oceans, leading to drastic changes in the water's chemistry. Triona McGrath researches this process, known as ocean acidification, and in this talk she takes us for a dive into an oceanographer's world. Learn more about how the "evil twin of climate change" is impacting the ocean -- and the life that depends on it.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This TED Talk features ocean researcher TRIona McGrath, recorded live at TEDx-Fulbright Dublin, 2016.
0:18.7	Do you ever think about how important the oceans are in our daily lives?
0:25.2	The oceans cover two-thirds of our planet.
0:28.7	They provide half the oxygen we breathe.
0:31.6	They moderate our climate.
0:33.6	And they provide jobs and medicine and food, including 20% of protein to feed the entire world population.
0:43.3	People used to think that the oceans were so vast
0:46.3	that they wouldn't be affected by human activities.
0:49.3	Well, today I'm going to tell you about a serious reality
0:53.3	that is changing our oceans called
0:55.7	Ocean Acidification or the evil twin of climate change.
1:01.7	Did you know that the oceans have absorbed 25% of all of the carbon dioxide that we have
1:07.7	emitted to the atmosphere?
1:09.8	Now, this is just another great service provided by the oceans,
1:12.6	since carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases that's causing climate change.
1:17.6	But as we keep pumping more and more and more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,
1:25.6	more is dissolving into the oceans, and this is what's changing our ocean chemistry.
1:31.3	When carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater,
1:35.3	it undergoes a number of chemical reactions.
1:37.3	Now, looking for you, I don't have time to get into the details
1:40.3	of the chemistry for today, but I'll tell you,
1:43.3	as more carbon dioxide enters the ocean, the seawater pH goes down.
	...

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