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haleyc112

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How do wave trains travel? How do they interact with each other?

Question 2

Describe how carbon dioxide acts as a buffer in seawater.



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chevyboi1976

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Answer to Question 1

 Wave trains are the progression of dispersed swells. One wave train contains waves that are all the same relative wavelength. The train moves half as fast as individuals in the train.
 Various sizes of wave trains exist in an area at the same time. Longer waves moves faster than shorter waves. These wave trains can be coming in from different storms.
 When wave trains interact with each other, it is called interference. There are two types of interference: destructive and constructive.
 Destructive interference occurs when two wave trains subtract from each other. There is a cancellation effect on the wave energy. This produces almost no waves at all.
 Constructive interference happens when wave trains add to each other. These are bigger than the size of each wave train.

Answer to Question 2

The proportion of carbon dioxide gas in the ocean is greater than that in the atmosphere; however CO2 still readily dissolves into seawater because it reacts with H2O to change chemical forms. In the ocean, CO2 combines chemically with water to form carbonic acid, (H2 CO3), which can further break down into bicarbonate (HCO3-) and carbonate (CO32-). While carbonic acid will lower pH (more acidic), formation of bicarbonate and carbonate increase pH (more alkaline). These chemical changes help to balance pH and hence act as a buffer. This chemical equilibrium is important for marine organisms because the carbonate ions are an important component of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), the compound that forms the skeletal material of many marine organisms (sponges, corals, snails, sea stars, etc.). An increase in CO2 ultimately reduces the amount of carbonate available to organisms for building their skeleton, another threat to their survival.



haleyc112

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chevyboi1976

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