On This Day
Oceans Flounder In Face of Heavy Carbon Emissions
by
Rachel Balik
Researchers at the University of Hawaii have found carbon dioxide is changing the chemical make-up of Earth’s oceans.
30-Second Summary
According to a new study published in Science, the carbon dioxide content of the Earth’s oceans is causing an increase in the acidity of the water, with potentially fatal repercussions for marine life, including coral. “If we continue with business as usual and don’t cut carbon dioxide emissions, carbonate reefs will ultimately start to dissolve,” said Richard Zeebe, a researcher at the University of Hawaii. He and his co-authors have calculated the emission reductions that will be necessary to stop this process, and the numbers are larger than those currently recommended.
Scientists have been concerned about the effects of increased carbon dioxide on ocean chemistry for some time now. It has caused the acidity of normally alkaline ocean waters to increase enough to hamper production of calcium carbonate, a mineral that composes marine animal skeletons and coral reefs. An author of a 2006 study reported that “decreased calcification in marine algae and animals is likely to impact marine food webs and has the potential to substantially alter the biodiversity and productivity of the ocean.”
Policy makers are instituting plans for lower emissions rates but since oceans absorb 40 percent of carbon dioxide, they require particular attention. The new study recommends that “ocean chemistry changes, and not only climate effects, should be taken into consideration when determining CO2
The recent G8 Summit produced a statement from world leaders promising to reduce carbon emissions 50 percent by 2050. That reduction may be inadequate where oceans are concerned.
Scientists have been concerned about the effects of increased carbon dioxide on ocean chemistry for some time now. It has caused the acidity of normally alkaline ocean waters to increase enough to hamper production of calcium carbonate, a mineral that composes marine animal skeletons and coral reefs. An author of a 2006 study reported that “decreased calcification in marine algae and animals is likely to impact marine food webs and has the potential to substantially alter the biodiversity and productivity of the ocean.”
Policy makers are instituting plans for lower emissions rates but since oceans absorb 40 percent of carbon dioxide, they require particular attention. The new study recommends that “ocean chemistry changes, and not only climate effects, should be taken into consideration when determining CO2
The recent G8 Summit produced a statement from world leaders promising to reduce carbon emissions 50 percent by 2050. That reduction may be inadequate where oceans are concerned.
Headline Link: ‘Emissions are Changing Oceans, Scientists Report’
Researchers from the University of Hawaii who are studying the effect of carbon emissions on oceans have said that “the ecological and economic consequences are difficult to predict but possibly calamitous.” The oceans have taken the brunt of the planet’s carbon emissions for the past two centuries by absorbing 40 percent of them. Scientists believe that this absorption has slowed down global warming, but will take a devastating toll on marine ecosystems. Furthermore, since water has absorbed a significant portion of total carbon dioxide, the situation in the oceans is more dire than climate change statistics indicate. Current plans for emissions reduction is not significant enough to reverse the damage in the seas.
Source: The Honolulu Advertiser
Background: The threat of carbon dioxide in oceans
In July 2006, a similar report, “Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Coral Reefs and Other Marine Calcifiers,” was released. Researchers found that the increased acidity of the ocean was hindering marine creatures’ ability to build the calcium carbonate that composes their skeletons and shells. Coral reefs also use calcium carbonate and are thus negatively affected by the acidity. One of the study’s authors asserted that “decreased calcification in marine algae and animals is likely to impact marine food webs and has the potential to substantially alter the biodiversity and productivity of the ocean.”
Source: Science Daily
Related Topics: Damaged ocean ecosystems and plans to reduce emissions
G8 environmental goals
As the 2008 G8 Summit came to a close, world leaders stated that “climate change is one of the great global challenges of our time.” The G8’s goal is to cut emissions by 50 percent by 2050. China and India refused to agree to this target, but other major nations are on board. Environmentalists were unsatisfied with the statement due to “its ambiguous wording and lack of specific mid-term targets,” however.
Source: The Journal of Turkish Weekly [RIA Novosti]
The “dead zone”
Scientists have been mapping a so-called “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico since 1985; this year, researchers predict that the area will grow to 10,084 square miles, the largest it has ever been and the biggest area of its kind ever measured. The dead zone is a result of nutrients, such as nitrogen, increasing algae growth in the water. When the algae dies, it depletes oxygen in the water faster than it can be drawn from the surface. When this happens, sea life dies from suffocation.
Source: findingDulcinea
Reference: Understanding the effects of carbon dioxide emissions
Green Car Congress explores the 2008 Science study in more detail. The article explains that oceans are naturally alkaline, but carbon emissions throw the water’s pH levels out of balance: “Experiments have shown that changes of as little as 0.2–0.3 units can hamper the ability of key marine organisms such as corals and some plankton to calcify their skeletons, which are built from pH-sensitive carbonate minerals.” It might be possible to return ocean pH levels to normal. But “such scenarios would be difficult to achieve, however, because they require immediate reductions in global emissions,” writes study author Richard Zeebe. The data strongly indicate that current plans for reduction will be ineffectual in bringing about necessary change.
Source: Green Car Congress
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