Visualization: pH Levels of Oceans and Atmospheric CO2

A visualization that allows students to explore changes in the pH levels of oceans for different levels of atmospheric CO₂. It includes visualizations of CO₂ concentrations corresponding to various emission scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The simulation enables students to visualize the global pH value of oceans for a given concentration of atmospheric CO₂. Students can vary the atmospheric CO₂ levels to observe the corresponding changes in the pH value of the oceans. Students can also observe the graphs for concentrations of various species of carbonate ions in (i) a closed system and (ii) an open ocean; and those depicting the pH value of oceans for various atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Further, students can select different Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) projection options and visualize the corresponding predicted ocean pH value on the pH indicator strip or on the aforementioned graphs.

Note: Detailed information about SRES projections can be obtained at http://ipcc-data.org/sim/gcm_clim/SRES_TAR/ddc_sres_emissions.html#a1b.

Use this tool to help students find answers to:

• What is ocean acidification?
• Discuss the possible global impact of higher levels of atmospheric CO₂ on the pH of oceans.

About the Tool

Tool Name	Surface Ocean pH Levels
Discipline	Chemistry, Environmental Sciences
Topic(s) in Discipline	pH Scale, Carbonates, Ocean Acidification, Carbon Emissions
Climate Topic	Climate and the Hydrosphere, Climate and the Atmosphere
Type of Tool	Visualization
Grade Level	High school, Undergraduate
Location	Global
Language	English
Translation	–
Developed by	Kristen Tjostheim, Matt Price, Darrell Vandenbrink, Ashley Ritter, Joseph Zondervan, Rachel Hislop-Hook, Mckenzie Oliver, Tyler Deboon, Marc-Olivier Lajeunesse Dr. Peter Mahaffy, Dr. Brian Martin, and Dr. Kristopher Ooms.
Hosted at	The King’s Centre for Visualization in Science
Link	Link
Access	Online
Computer Skills	Basic