Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
atm CO
2
(ppmv)
Years
Date
pH
Mrs A
-25
1985
344
8.10
Daughter
of Mrs A
10%
PRESENT
0
2010
385
8.06
10%
Grand-
daughter
of Mrs A
10%
25%
25
2035
459
8.00
Great
grand-
daughter
of Mrs A
50%
75%
50
2060
563
7.92
100%
50%
95%
2085
711
7.84
75
100%
828
7.78
100%
100
2110
125
2135
Antarctic
Tropical
oceans
Arctic
Figure 13.3
In western developed countries the lifespan for a woman averages 80 years. This means that it is possible for four generations of a family to
be alive at any one time. If atmospheric CO
2
emissions continue unabated the uptake of this CO
2
by the oceans will result in decreasing ocean pH, and
model projections indicate that the surface waters of the Arctic will become increasingly undersaturated in aragonite i rst, with the Antarctic following soon
after (Orr et al. 2005 ; Steinacher et al. 2009 ; Turley et al. 2010a). The tropical oceans will not become undersaturated, but saturation will be reduced
sufi ciently to be critical to coral reef growth (Cao and Caldeira 2008; Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2008). A mother and her daughter born today will both
experience the onset and continued strengthening of ocean acidii cation. In her later years the daughter will experience a world where all the Arctic and
much of the Antarctic will be corrosive to shelled organisms and nearly all tropical coral reefs will be in decline.
With the substantial investment that each indi-
vidual and government makes to provide for
present and future happiness, health, welfare,
safety, shelter, and education, it seems remarkable
that climate change and ocean acidii cation, which
could affect all these benei ts that we try to bestow
on our children, are not considered as part of this
care package. Unmitigated ocean acidii cation is a
threat to many of the basic and psychological
needs outlined by Maslow ( 1943 ; Fig. 13.1 ). How
will we then face and respond to our children or
their children or our great grandchildren? It may
not just be the marine ecosystems that we will
have watched passively disappear or degrade; it
may be the loss of i sh protein for many nations
that depend on it as their sole protein source (Table
13.1), as well as our basic 'social' and 'ego' needs.
However, if we could reach for and engage our
creativity and ability to achieve and focus on miti-
gation of climate change and ocean acidii cation,
then those basic underlying needs, including those
'ego' and 'social' needs, could be met too. It might
be then that we recognize that we are temporary
caretakers of this planet, which is our life-support
system and the life-support system of future
generations.
