Innovation Anthology #156: Operations and Marketing Manager
Climate change is occurring at a much faster rate than it ever did in the past.
That’s the observation of climate change modeler Dr. Andrew Weaver at the University of Victoria.
Dr. Weaver studies the role oceans play in climate. His new computer model predicts excess carbon dioxide holds a grim future for the marine environment.
DR. ANDREW WEAVER: The problem is when you put the carbon dioxide in the ocean you make it slightly acidic. Water and carbon dioxide gives you carbonic acid. If you go and buy your carbonated water, you’ve basically got carbon dioxide in water and it’s slightly acidic. Now drop some chalk into your carbonated water and watch it dissolve. Well, the same thing happens to marine species that require a carbonate to build their shells. What happens is they can no can longer build their shells as effectively. So what happens is that as the carbon dioxide drawdown in the ocean builds, you start to see more and more shell based species starting to become on the brink of extinction or beyond that brink.
As a consequence of this absorption of excess carbon dioxide into the oceans, Dr. Weaver forecasts the loss of most of our corrals, including the Great Barrier Reef.
Thanks today to the Canada Foundation for Innovation.
Learn more at InnovationAnthology.com
I’M CHERYL CROUCHER
Guest
Alex Court,
Native Roofs, Calgary, Alberta, Canada,
Sponsor
Canada Foundation for Innovation
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is an independent corporation created by the Government of Canada to fund research infrastructure—state-of-the-art equipment, laboratories, databases, and the buildings necessary to conduct research. The CFI’s mandate is to strengthen the capacity of Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and non-profit research institutions to carry out world-class research and technology development that benefits Canadians.
Since its creation in 1997, CFI investments in research infrastructure have lead to breakthroughs in areas such as health, natural resources, information and communications technology, energy, and the environment.
La Fondation canadienne pour l’innovation (FCI) est un organisme autonome créé par le gouvernement du Canada pour financer l’infrastructure de recherche—l’équipement de pointe, les laboratoires, les bases de données de même que les bâtiments nécessaires pour mener des travaux de recherche. Le mandat de la FCI est de renforcer la capacité des universités, des collèges et des hôpitaux de recherche, de même que des établissements de recherche à but non lucratif du Canada de mener des projets de recherche et de développement technologique de calibre mondial qui produisent des retombées pour les Canadiens.
Depuis la création de la FCI en 1997, les investissements qu’elle a faits dans l’infrastructure ont mené à des percées dans des domaines tels que la santé, les ressources naturelles, les technologies de l’information et des communications, l’énergie et l’environnement.
Program Date: 2008-07-31