Carbon sink in chemistry and its consequences?

Question

"The Earth's carbon sinks -- of which the Southern Ocean accounts for 15 percent -- absorb about half of all human carbon emissions. With the Southern Ocean reaching its saturation point, more CO2 will stay in our atmosphere."

How does carbon sink work chemically? What will happen to the H2O that is absorbing the CO2? How will this affect the atmosphere and ozone layers? Meaning, if the ocean so saturated that it could not absorb CO2 anymore, will the CO2 then stays up in the atmosphere? Would it then decomposes into chlorine to destroy ozone layers? What are the consequences of this? Would it speed up the Global Warming? And what other things that can happen in relation to this - and its cause and effect?

Also can you depict this whole picture (of what is happening as described above) into chemical equations, and related concepts in chemistry?

Thank you!

Answer 1

Carbon dioxide is absorbed into the ocean in two ways. One is through chemical equillibrium between carbon dioxide solubility and concentration in the air above the water. Since there is a lower concentration of carbon dioxide in the ocean water than in the air, carbon dioxide goes into the ocean. The second way is through photosynthesis, mainly through the large amounts of phytoplankton living the world's oceans.

If more carbon dioxide is absorbed by the oceans, it will make the oceans more acidic. This works by the chemical equilibrium reaction H2O + CO2 <--> HCO3- + H+. Though the oceans are vast, continued absorption of carbon dioxide could impact the pH negatively, affecting many oceanic species.

Since less carbon dioxide will be absorbed into the ocean, more will be left in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas; that is, it traps infrared radiation that would otherwise escape into space. This extra heat would speed up global warming. More atmospheric carbon dioxide wouldn't affect the ozone layer because carbon is a different element than chlorine. As different elements, they can't change into each other. So at least the ozone layer is safe.

Answer 2

How does carbon sink work chemically?

Carbon is converted into the carbonates which are generally insoluble, these sink to the ocean floor.

What will happen to the H2O that is absorbing the CO2?

The H2O does not absorb CO2, it only acts as a solvent.

Yes the CO2 will stay in the atmosphere and speed up global warming. CO2 cannot turn into Chlorine (Cl) which is a different element and not related to C or O.

The polar caps will melt, sea levels will rise and we will have a worse scenario than Day after Tomorrow.

No, this is not a joke.

Answer 3

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