User:Norse1933/sandbox

Runaway Carbon Dioxide

The level of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere is rising at an increasing rate. Currently at ~410ppm, the increase is due to the excess of manmade emissions (~37gt/year) and land use changes vs the natural clearance /carbon cycle mechanisms. There are several short term and long term imnpact to this  One is that human brain function is impaired starting around 500 ppm. Carbon dioxide enters the oceans as carbonic acid, reducing ocean Ph, now down 30% since 1850. And eventually, (at CO2 ~1000ppm) falling Ph will result in a ocean hypoxic event. This has the past has been linked to significant mass extinctions such as the end-Permian.

Penn State. "Global Warming Led To Atmospheric Hydrogen Sulfide And Permian Extinction." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 1 March 2005. . https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/29/opinion/sunday/when-life-on-earth-was-nearly-extinguished.html Caldeira, K.; Wickett, M. E. (2003). "Anthropogenic carbon and ocean pH". Nature. 425 (6956): 365. Bibcode:2001AGUFMOS11C0385C. doi:10.1038/425365a. PMID 14508477.