There are so many gases that is dissolved in the ocean. These gas somehow help the ocean to create balance of the ocean ecosystem. Among so many gas that is dissolved in the ocean you may know some of them such as oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide.
Maybe you and most of the people only know a bit about the importance of dissolved gases in ocean that actually has more importance more than you know. Because of that, today I would like to share you with some of the importance so by then you will understand.
1. Photosynthesis process
Surely you know that there are some gases that is needed in order to support the photosynthesis process. Photosynthesis process will require the gas which is carbon dioxide to produce food and also oxygen. During the days, ocean plants will need carbon dioxide, meanwhile during the night it will need oxygen.
2. Nutrient absorption
Even the smallest living being in the ocean still need some supply of these dissolved gas. Marine microorganism will need nitrogen that has been process and turn out to be ammonium after the nitrogen went through a process called as assimilation. These microorganism will actually feed on the other form of nitrogen such as ammonium or nitrate.
3. Marine animals survival kit
If there is no gas that is dissolved in the ocean means there will be no fish can live up to today. The oxygen that is dissolved and mixed with the ocean water perfectly make fish can actually process the water and take the oxygen from it.
This is why you will always see fish look like it drinks so much water because that is how its respiration system works.
4. Indicator of salinity
Of course the changes in salinity level is caused by some factors affecting ocean salinity. And somehow this will surely affecting the live in the ocean ecosystem.
And somehow one of the importance of dissolved gases in ocean is act to be an indicator of salinity. Where the low salinity area of ocean water will hold more gas compared to those who does not.
5. Indicator of plankton
Surely you know some functions of the phytoplankton in ocean ecosystem. One of it is to produce food and to become a food for another ocean living beings. Plankton has become one of the key of marine life that is really important. Without plankton maybe there will be no live above it.
A dissolved gas in the ocean which is carbon dioxide can indicate where the plankton live. When there is more carbon dioxide there will be more plankton since the temperature of the ocean water itself is warm.
6. Get to know about a nutrient rich location
Besides knowing the location of plankton in the ocean, dissolved gases in the ocean actually can also help us to know a nutrient rich location beneath the ocean.
Surely if there is many plankton exist in a certain place, the amount of nutrient there should be plenty as well. Because, plankton will also need some amount of nutrient to support its life.
See also: Importance of Nutrients in the Ocean
7. Forming calcium carbonate shells
You do know that there are some marine living beings that has shells to cover and protect themselves. And one main components that is used to create the shells is carbon, through a long process of carbon cycle. In fact, not only the animal that need the carbon but the plants also need it.
8. Help the rock formation
There is this we called as carbon cycle where the cycle is actually explaining about the carbon itself. And through the cycle you can actually know that one of the importance of dissolved gases in ocean which is carbon dioxide is to help the rock formation through sedimentation.
9. Create sedimentation
At the end of its life, plankton will sink and release the carbon to actually form ocean sediments in the bottom part of the ocean.
The more plankton that died means there will be more sedimentation created in the bottom part of the ocean.
See also: Importance of Ocean Sediments
10. Supplying coal
There is also carbon that is locked up inside the fossil fuel for millions of year. And somehow through the chemical reaction that is happened through out the years the carbon itself is made up a coal or at least it helps the formation of coal itself. Yes the coal that today we use as one of the resources.
11. Produce carbohydrate
The amount of oxygen and nitrogen gasses that is dissolved beneath the ocean will be used by the plants to actually produce carbohydrate. This carbohydrate will somehow beneficial and used as a source of food by another marine living beings such as the fish and another herbivore creature.
See also: Herbivores in The Pacific Ocean – Herbivores in the Coral Reef
12. Knowing the factors that causing global warming
One of the importance of dissolved gases in ocean or studying the dissolved gasses in the ocean is that it allows us to know the factors that causing global warming. As you may know that if the amount of carbon dioxide is high it may cause the rise of temperature which causing the green house effect.
See also: Effects of Greenhouse
13. Balancing the ecosystem
There are some dissolved gasses in the ocean such as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and a little amount of argon.
These gasses somehow working together to create balance in the ocean ecosystem. Imagine if the amount of carbon dioxide is too much means there will be less oxygen and many of marine living beings will die.
See also: Characteristics of Ocean Ecosystems
14. Indicator of a good quality of water
The more oxygen exist in the ocean this means that the quality of ocean water itself is good. So you can actually see that if in a certain place the amount of plants is not much and the amount of phytoplankton is just too much means the quality of water there is not good anymore.
15. Supporting the life of ocean plants
If you still remember the junior high or senior school biology you will find it there that plants in the land will need some amount of nitrogen to support its growth. Just like plants in the land, plants in the ocean biome also need some amount of nitrogen to support its life.
Somehow the existence of nitrogen gas help the nutrient absorption become maximum so by then the plants will get the nutrient that it needs to live.
16. Maintain the health environment of living beings
Another importance of dissolved gases in ocean is that it helps to maintain the health environment of living beings.
Oxygen is actually needed not to breathe but it actually needed to release some amount of toxic or radicals that exist within the cells. Where if there is no oxygen means these substance will be accumulated inside the cells and slowly kills the beings.
17. Plants respiration system
I believe that you ever heard that plants will breathe on oxygen so by than human need to compete with the plants in order to get the oxygen. Somehow these kind of thing is actually true, since plants get no light during the night which it needs to create carbohydrate and oxygen.
So in order to support its life during the night, plants will breathe just like us. It will use some amount of oxygen to support their respiration system so they can survive through the night.
You may also see that if you are trying to do an experiments where you put one plant in the dark it will grow faster but thinner. This really shows that plants cannot produce food during the night.
So those are some of the importance of dissolved gases in ocean that I can share you with. Hopefully this article can help you to know more about the deep ocean ecosystems.
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