Correlation Between Ocean Acidification and Zooplankton in the South Pacific Gyre

Authors

Samuel Noonan, University of Denver
Rachel Scudder, Sea Education Association (S.E.A) - Advisor

Abstract

The South Pacific Gyre is a naturally occurring carbon sink, meaning that it absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide by dissolving it into the moving surface water.The dissolution of CO2 level will dictate the water’s acidic levels a larger the concentration of dissolved CO2 is known to increase the salt water’s acidity. A great amount of the ocean’s biomass is composed of calcifying organisms,which produce tests or shells made from calcium carbonate CaCO3.The goal of our project is to determine if there is a correlation between the water acidity across various locations, as we sailed through the South Pacific gyre and the biomass and/or biodiversity in those same locations. By studying the connection between zooplankton and acidification will allow for a better understanding of the ocean environment as acidification continues to increase. We conduct nine nighttime and twelve daytime collections which indicated no statistical significance. Our research along the S-282 cruise track was unable to find any positive or negative correlations between pH levels and zooplankton density.

Publication Statement

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Recommended Citation

Noonan, Samuel and Scudder, Rachel (2020) "Correlation Between Ocean Acidification and Zooplankton in the South Pacific Gyre," DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, Article 7.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/duurj/vol1/iss1/7