By Jim Steele

1. The Undisputed Science:

The upper panel of the attached illustration shows how CO2 breaks down into 3 different molecules when CO2 combines with water, collectively called Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC). First one of water’s H+ ion pops off to form Bicarbonate ions. Bicarbonate ions now contribute over 90% of the oceans current DIC (red curve) . Another H+ proton pops off to form Carbonate ions which contribute ~9% of DIC (green curve). No more than 1% of invading CO2 remains as CO2 (blue curve).

The added H+ ions can make the water more acidic. The pH scale indicates H+ concentration. At pH 2 there is 1 part H+ for every 100 (10 to the 2 power) parts water. When water contains so many H+, nearly 99% of the DIC remains as CO2. At pH 10, H+ ions are rare, 1 part H+ for every 10,000,000,000 (10 to the 10th power) parts water. With so few H+, DIC exceeds 90% carbonate ions.

Distilled water has pH 7. It is considered the neutral pH because the H+ ions that pop off a water molecule are balanced by negative ions (alkalinity). Ocean water at pH 8.1 is less acidic than distilled water because the Bicarbonate ions and Carbonate ions are great buffers that can re-absorb H+ ions and prevent the water from becoming as acidic as distilled water.

2. The Dissolving Snail Shell Hoax:

The middle panel is NOAA’s dishonest and insidious illustration of a dissolving snail shell of a dead sea butterfly in 7.8 pH water, a pH that models predict will occur from continued burning of fossil fuels.

First, consider that living sea butterflies’ shells, as for virtually every mollusk shell, have a protective organic covering that prevents any shell dissolution. Likewise living coral polyps protect their reef skeleton.

Second, consider that the dead shell would have dissolved faster in pH 7 of distilled water. The addition of CO2 and its buffering molecules actually slowed down any shell dissolving whether by maintaining a pH of 8.1 or 7.8.

3. The Reduced Calcification Hoax:

Shells and reefs are made of calcium carbonate. The scam abuses one true scientific factoid: At a lower pH, the added H+ ions will be absorbed by the ocean’s buffering carbonate ions. That reduces available carbonate ions by converting them to bicarbonate ions. Thus, the alarmists’ claim acidification will reduce seawater’s carbonate ions and make it more difficult to make calcium carbonate shells or reefs.

The scam is: not a single researcher has detected any shell/reef making organism that directly imports carbonate ions from sea water to make their shells/reefs. They all only import CO2 and the very abundant bicarbonate ions, which they then convert internally to a carbonate ion.

As seen in the lower panel illustrating the steps in coral calcification, CO2 (highlighted by blue rectangle) that has no charge, freely passes through the corals outer membranes. Once inside, an enzyme converts CO2 into bicarbonate ions which traps bicarbonate ions because charged ions cannot pass freely through membranes.

Then, special bicarbonate transporters (highlighted by green rectangles) allow bicarbonate ions to pass into the space where the reef skeleton is made. Again, no carbonate ion transporters have been detected to allow the import of carbonate ions.

In contrast, the calcium pump imports calcium ions for reef making directly from the seawater, but because they are positively charged they must also pump H+ ions out of the reef-making space to maintain a balanced charge. Conveniently pumping H+ ions out, also raises pH and causes the imported bicarbonate ions to convert to the required carbonate ions.

Finally the calcium and newly converted carbonate ions combine to form the calcium carbonate building blocks for reef skeletons and shells.

Thus any acidification that converts sea water carbonate ions into bicarbonate ions is actually helping reef and shell making to absorb the critical CO2 and bicarbonate ions.

Knowing the real science, I can no longer trust NOAA’s climate alarmism misinformation.

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Your article only tells half ass science.

More CO2 indeed will break down to form bicarbonates and carbonates that supply H+ ions that can lower pH. But simultaneously the resulting bicarbonates and carbonates are by far the greatest source of alkalinity that buffers ocean pH.…

— Jim Steele (@JimSteeleSkepti) November 29, 2023