Physical and bio-geochemical modulation of ocean acidification in the central North Pacific

Purpose Inquiry-based virtual lab designed to look at changes to ocean carbon system over the
past few decades and investigate how ocean acidification could impact marine organisms.
Name: ________ Date: ___
Part 1
The figure above is from Dore et al. 2009 (Physical and biogeochemical modulation of ocean
acidification in the central North Pacific), published in the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences (https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/106/30/12235.full.pdf). Notice that it includes
measurement of CO2 in the atmosphere from measurements at Moana Loa, CO2 measurements
from the surface waters of Station ALOHA, and pH measurements from 3 depth ranges
measured at Station ALOHA.

1. What does the graph indicate about the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and ocean in 1988
   compared to the present?
2. The more concentrated the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more CO2 will dissolve in the
   oceans, which will lower the pH of the oceans. Why are the pH values not declining in all 3
   depth zones on the graph?
3. On the pH scale: _ is neutral. The most acidic is . The most basic/alkaline is
   _.
4. Please use a carbonate calculator (https://biocycle.atmos.colostate.edu/shiny/carbonate/) and
   the data in the google sheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/
   1mLR693CxB_YNNExL45QO12yO-HKTCiSFrvfbY90MQtA/edit#gid=0) to determine pH
   values and fill out Table 1. You should use the DIC, Alkalinity, and temperature to determine pH
   and pCO2.
   Locations
   Date DIC Alkalinity pH pCO2
   Station ALOHA
   Station ALOHA
   Bermuda Atlantic (BATS)
   CALCOFI Station 1
   Name: ________ Date: ___
   Table 1: pH range Table 1: pH ranges in the recent past.
5. Which of the measured variables in the table have changed over time at Station ALOHA (and
   in which direction have they moved)? If a variable didn’t change much, why do you think it
   didn’t?
6. How much did the pH, pCO2, DIC, and alkalinity change between stations in the CALCOFI
   data?
   Part 2 Virtual Urchin
   Make sure you allow flash player to work. Go through the “Our Acidifying Ocean” Virtual Lab
   & answer the following questions.
7. What is the model organism in the virtual experiment, & why was this organism chosen?
8. Why are the pH’s 8.1 and 7.7 selected for this experiment?
9. State a possible hypothesis for this experiment.
10. Why are there 3 replicates of cultures for each pH?
    CALCOFI Station 2
    CALCOFI Station 2
    Name: ________ Date: ___
11. Why is the water drained from the samples and then re-added?
12. List your data and the complete data set in the charts below
13. Please explain the importance of the data in this experiment. How do the arms of the larva in
    pH 7.7 compare to the larva in 8.1?
14. Why might it be significant that larva in one group have shorter arms than those in the other
    group?
    pH 7.7 pH 8.1
    Replicate A
    Replicate B
    Replicate C
    Average
    Standard Deviation
    Your data Complete data
    pH 7.7 pH 8.1 pH 7.7 pH 8.1
    Average
    Standard Deviation
    Name: ________ Date: ___

Sample Solution

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