CLIMATE CHANGE
Report: Oceans' demise near irreversible
Moving toward the tipping point
BY LES BLUMENTHAL, McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON -- A sobering new report warns that oceans face a "fundamental and irreversible ecological transformation" not seen in millions of years as greenhouse gases and climate change already have affected temperature, acidity, sea and oxygen levels, the food chain and possibly major currents that could alter global weather.
The report, in Science magazine, doesn't break a lot of new ground, but it brings together dozens of studies that collectively paint a dismal picture of deteriorating ocean health.
"This is further evidence we are well on our way to the next great extinction event," said Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, the director of the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland in Australia and a co-author of the report.
John Bruno, an associate professor of marine sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the report's other co-author, isn't quite as alarmist, but he's equally concerned.
"We are becoming increasingly certain that the world's marine ecosystems are reaching tipping points," Bruno said, adding, "We really have no power or model to foresee" the effect.
The oceans, which cover 71 percent of the Earth's surface, have played a dominant role in regulating the planet's climate. However, even as the understanding of what's happening to terrestrial ecosystems as a result of climate change has grown, studies of marine ecosystems have lagged, the report says. The oceans are acting as a heat sink for rising temperatures and have absorbed about one-third of the carbon dioxide produced by human activities.
Among other things, the report notes:
* The average temperature of the upper level of the oceans has increased more than 1 degree Fahrenheit over the past 100 years, and global ocean surface temperatures in January were the second-warmest ever recorded for that month.
* Though the increase in acidity is slight, it represents a "major departure" from the geochemical conditions that have existed in the oceans for hundreds of thousands if not millions of years.
* Nutrient-poor "ocean deserts" in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans grew by 15 percent, or roughly 2.5 million square miles, from 1998 to 2006.
* Oxygen concentrations have been dropping off the Northwest U.S. coast and the coast of southern Africa, where dead zones are appearing regularly. There is paleontological evidence that declining oxygen levels in the oceans played a major role in at least four or five mass extinctions.
* Since the early 1980s, the production of phytoplankton, a crucial creature at the lower end of the food chain, has declined 6 percent, with 70 percent of the decline found in the northern parts of the oceans. Scientists also have found that phytoplankton are becoming smaller.
Volcanic activity and large meteorite strikes in the past have "resulted in hostile conditions that have increased extinction rates and driven ecosystem collapse," the report says. "There is now overwhelming evidence human activities are driving rapid changes on a scale similar to these past events.
"Many of these changes are already occurring within the world's oceans with serious consequences likely over the coming years."
One of the consequences could be a disruption of major ocean currents, particularly those flowing north and south, circulating warm water from the equator to polar regions and cold water from the poles back to the equator. Higher temperatures in polar regions and a decrease in the salinity of surface water because of melting ice sheets could interrupt such circulation, the report says.
The change in currents could further affect such climate phenomena as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation. Scientists just now are starting to understand how these phenomena affect global weather patterns.
"Although our comprehension of how this variability will change over the coming decades remains uncertain, the steady increase in heat content in the ocean and atmosphere are likely to have profound influences on the strength, direction and behavior of the world's major current systems," the report says.
Kelp forests such as those off the Northwest U.S. coast, along with corals, sea grasses, mangroves and salt marsh grasses, are threatened by the changes the oceans are undergoing, the report says. All of them provide habitat for thousands of species.
The polar bear isn't the only polar mammal that faces an escalating risk of extinction, the report says; penguin and seal populations also are declining.
"It's a lot worse than the public thinks," said Nate Mantua, an associate research professor at the University of Washington's Climate Impacts Group.
Mantua, who's read the report, said it was clear what was causing the oceans' problems: greenhouse gases. "It is not a mystery," he said.
There's growing concern about low-oxygen or no-oxygen zones appearing more and more regularly off the Northwest coast, Mantua said. Scientists are studying the California Current along the West Coast to determine whether it could be affected, he added.
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24 COMMENTS
lotekguy said...
The solution is obvious:Mass suicide. The human race,being responsible for all the world's ecological devastation,must render itself extinct. Once no trace of human life remains,the rest of the earth's creatures will truly enjoy nature's bounty. Okay,who goes first??
July 4, 2010 at 6:59 AM Report abuse
CommomSense said...
Lotekguy...I vote the tree hugging, environmentalists first... with all the hot air they exhude, that should lower the global warming trend. Seriously...hello it's a planet, there are changes that are afoot here. NOT manmade and will not be reversed. The sun will eventually run out of fuel and we'll have armegeddon. I'll worry about that in 6 billion or so years...
July 4, 2010 at 8:27 AM Report abuse
MeMissU said...
Not one person now in existence will ever be affected by any changes in the ecosystem. That's why we're called the Me Generation or Generation X .. At the rate these changes occur, science and technology accelerate at a higher rate. In 200 years from now, there may be ways to inject the seas with life promoting chemicals and machinery to control the flow of the ocean waters, and whatever. Anything is possible if wars end and money is spent on earth instead of space and killing grounds. In this lifetime, we create death, oil spills based on faulty construction materials to save money, and blow money like there's no tomorrow. In the end..money always rules! Cash is King!
July 4, 2010 at 8:38 AM Report abuse
lotekguy said...
I suspect a good many people have an investment in perpetuating various"crises"for political and economic gain. Not to mention the adulation of their peers. Al Gore comes to mind. All these academics and scientists,whose arguments are bolstered by international bodies like the IPCC,give new meaning to the term"political science".
July 4, 2010 at 9:12 AM Report abuse
bubbagump said...
The NWO has an answer for this. Just YouTube Denver International Airport. Read all about where they might put you. By the way it was built by the New World Airport Commission. An entity that does not exist. So do you homework!!
July 4, 2010 at 9:18 AM Report abuse
Monkeyboy said...
Do any of you morons remember the Kennebec River. Go down and catch a nice bit of fish for dinner and wash it down with a cool glass of Kennebec water and then we'll discus how man's detrimental impact on the planet is a giant hoax perpetuated for the benefit of Al Gore.
July 4, 2010 at 9:48 AM Report abuse
lotekguy said...
CommonSense,I posted a comment indicating I agree with your opinion,and it didn't appear. I later re-worded/re-submitted it,making sure it strictly conformed to"comment guidelines". Still no dice. Apparently,someone at the KJ is sympathetic to the cause of radical environmentalism and in a position of censorship.
July 4, 2010 at 9:54 AM Report abuse
ProudAmericn said...
I wonder if this report was written by the same "scientists" who falsified the data during their global warming experiments so that the results would say that global warming was real?
July 4, 2010 at 10:09 AM Report abuse
longpondloon said...
lotekguy...you are on 'the list' of bad guys, to be watched......
July 4, 2010 at 10:25 AM Report abuse
TrueConserv said...
"fundamental and irreversible ecological transformation" not seen in millions of years. Well thats nice. Could we see the name of the company or group of scientists that did the study millions of years ago that was used as a base for this report. No? Because IT"S A GUESS PEOPLE!! Brought to you by the same people that continue the hoax of global warming. Stay tuned, if you don't go into a panic over this one, we'll find something else to keep you convinced that everything is a crisis. I agree with CommonSense, both the poster above AND the idea of using common sense.
July 4, 2010 at 11:26 AM Report abuse
lotekguy said...
longpondloon,never tell a paranoiac there's"a list". Now I won't be able to sleep for a week! I always suspected there were lists and now you've confirmed my worst fear. Ever notice that liberals are always warning us of crises? There's no shortage of reasons why we need to pass a law,RIGHT NOW! We can't wait,the economy will tank,the country will be hopelessly polluted,the sky is gonna fall!!! We need to bail out Wall Street. We need to take over GM, tear up their contracts and cap their executive salaries. We need to take over the nation's entire healthcare system,NOW!!! The evil,greedy private sector will DESTROY this country!!... I don't want to rush this wonderful season,but God I'm looking forward to regaining control of this country in November.
July 4, 2010 at 12:32 PM Report abuse
oldgrump said...
lotekguy said... longpondloon,never tell a paranoiac there's"a list". Now I won't be able to sleep for a week!******* You really want something to cause loss of sleep? Remember, just because you're paranoid does not mean "they" aren't out to get you.
July 4, 2010 at 12:49 PM Report abuse
Divinity said...
lotekguy said... “I suspect a good many people have an investment in perpetuating various"crises"for political and economic gain. All these academics and scientists,…,give new meaning to the term`political science’.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - You can bet your life on it. But, like other “smokers”, you are subject to the rules, based upon best evidence, which would limit your second-hand emissions for the good of the rest of us. Your “liberal conspiracy” theories are as compelling as bubbagump’s “New World Order” at the Denver airport or revelation’s apocalypse. You are old and you are tired; you suggest an easy “way out” – you agree with CommomSense that environmentalists should be the first to commit suicide. You think this is funny. Get some rest, drink plenty of fluids (non-alcoholic), and enjoy the fireworks. That’s all you’ll get in the real world.
July 4, 2010 at 12:52 PM Report abuse
DaveD said...
why hasn't baldacci ordered the evacuation of the entire coast? we haven't got much time... why haven't we done anything yet ? where is obama he'll save us.
July 6, 2010 at 8:46 AM Report abuse
Henny said...
Hey Monkeyboy...the fish you catch in the Kennebec today could not even survive a few dozen years ago. That goes for the Androscoggin, Penobscott, and Presumscott as well. They were sewers and industrial dumps....Ok still are in some cases. But the truth is the environment in this country is a millions times cleaner than it was in 1970. From our factories and vehicles to our day to day activities. As for the planet...as mentioned in the article it goes through cycles and if we are the next group to be wiped out for the birds or bugs to take over...so be it. But 300 years of "Global Warming" can be wiped out with one volcanic eruption.
July 6, 2010 at 9:34 AM Report abuse
Henny said...
Funny thing...in this article it says the seal population is plummeting. But in another story over the weekend about the sharks in the Northeast they said they are here because of the over abundance of the critters.
July 6, 2010 at 9:47 AM Report abuse
1wouldthink said...
Do a search on GenerationZero and you'll see how all the hype of crisis has been the driving machine behind a "for profit" agenda.
July 6, 2010 at 9:55 AM Report abuse
DaveD said...
henny i saw the same thing - they take a few million in tax payer dollars... give it to some exchange students at the U of ME or U of NE and send them down to the water to count seal heads bobbing in the ocean. and, like you mentioned, not take in to account the sudden rise in white sharks in the area. i think they should get a more accurate count by swimming with the seals... oh but then we'd have clipboards and backpacks washing up on shore - that would be bad for the environment.
July 6, 2010 at 9:56 AM Report abuse
SnVzdEJpbGw%3D said...
"The polar bear isn't the only polar mammal that faces an escalating risk of extinction, the report says; penguin and seal populations also are declining." Hey Les! Penguins are not 'polar mammals'!
July 6, 2010 at 9:19 PM Report abuse
3Steps said...
I don't buy the whole 'global warming' thing... because everyone based it on AIR quality. When one volcano puts out as much pollutants as the entire industrial age. However, WATER pollution.. that is what will kill us.
July 7, 2010 at 1:13 AM Report abuse
Student04330 said...
are these the same people who made similar statements about the ozone
July 7, 2010 at 7:05 AM Report abuse
Divinity said...
3Steps said..." I don't buy the whole 'global warming' thing... because everyone based it on AIR quality. However, WATER pollution.. that is what will kill us." ___________________________ You're missing a few steps. The same economic and cultural processes that contaminate and degrade the oceans and inland waters also vitiate our Earth, Wind, and Fire. Since Sputnik, we have also managed to litter the fifth great principle of the Buddhist and Japanese traditions. The ancient Chinese understood the Wu Xing as 5steps or permutations and Chief Seattle, the Suquamish and Duwamish Native American chief, taught that "All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth Befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life, He is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, He does to himself." For John Muir, "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe."
July 7, 2010 at 9:02 AM Report abuse
Dee said...
I don't doubt that our ocean is in trouble, however, when a report makes the following statement, it becomes suspect: "Though the increase in acidity is slight, it represents a "major departure" from the geochemical conditions that have existed in the oceans for hundreds of thousands if not millions of years." Are we to believe that anyone on our earth has tested the geochemical conditions of the ocean millions or even hundreds of years ago? What kind of idiots do they think we are?
July 18, 2010 at 7:04 PM Report abuse
jimpmwo said...
and one day the sun will burn out and the earth will freeze into a airless lump of rock. the sky is falling
July 19, 2010 at 4:50 PM Report abuse