Effect+of+Dissolved+Carbon+Dioxide+on+Coral

EFFECT OF CO2 ON CORAL. Nadja and Sonali. The purpose of this experiment was to test the hypothesis that increased CO2 concentrations in water would lead to the disillusion of dead coral and result in a loss of coral mass. CO2 bubblers set at different rates were inserted into bottles of artificial sea water and pieces of coral. This reaction was monitored for over 100 hours by Logger Pro Probes, which took a pH reading in the water every 6 minutes. The results neither supported nor refuted the hypothesis: every piece of coral lost 3% of its mass. However, since the rate of the CO2 could not accurately be controlled, it cannot be assumed with certainty that the addition of CO2 was the reason for this mass loss. Therefore, this experiment serves as a guide for future experiments. The conclusions of a more controlled lab setting could have real world applications such as continuing to predict the affect of increased CO2 in water on Coral. Keywords: Coral, CO2, pH, seawater, carbonic acid cycle

media type="file" key="Sonali and Nadja recording.mp3"

SOURCES: Kleypas, J.A, Buddemeier, R.W, Archer, D., Gattuso, J., Langdon, C., and Opdyke, B.N. 1999 “Geochemical Consequences of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide on Coral Reefs” //Science// //284// (5411), 118.

Orr, J.C, Fabry, V.J, Aumont, O, Bopp, L. (2005). “Anthropogenic ocean acidification over the twenty-first century and its impact on calcifying organisms.” //Nature, 437.// 681-686