Climate Change
Climate change is a real and serious problem to the future of our Earth as we know it. Greenhouse gas emissions are having a myriad of adverse effects that not only affect the atmosphere, but are also harmful to the ocean environment. In polar regions such as the Arctic, a degree can mean the difference between ice and water. Polar bears may be one of the first victims of global warming as they risk drowning while swimming between ice floes to hunt for seals. As the icebergs melt they must swim ever further to hunt their prey. The melting of the ice itself also contributes to global warming as white ice, which reflects heat back into space, is replaced by darker ocean, which absorbs heat. This makes the ocean, and in turn the Earth, even warmer.
As the ocean warms, the circulation patterns of ocean currents will change, affecting marine life and humans alike. These currents are a major influence on our climate. As more ice melts and less is created, large-scale currents begin to weaken. Warm-water currents such as the Gulf Stream are what keep places like Western Europe relatively warm when they would otherwise feel like Canada, which is located at the same latitude. Increases in ocean temperature may also lead to stronger hurricanes, as hurricane strength generally increases with the temperature of the ocean water below it.
The ocean is also a very good sink for carbon dioxide (CO2), and as more CO2 is produced by humans driving cars and heating homes, more is released into the atmosphere, and more is absorbed by the oceans. Our ocean is actually becoming more acidic due to the large amounts of CO2 it absorbs. This change in ocean chemistry weakens corals and other skeleton-building organisms, similar to how osteoporosis weakens bones in humans.
PLACES IN THE SEA RELATED TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Arctic Ocean
Glacier Bay
Gulf Stream
LEARN MORE
Ocean
and Climate Change Institute
Climate.org
The Climate
Crisis- An Inconvenient Truth
Changing
Ocean Chemistry Threatens to Harm Marine Life
Ocean
Curents and Climate Change
Failing
Ocean Current Raises Fears of Mini Iice Age
Bering Sea: Upheaval on the Edge of the Ice - Seattle Times
Ocean Literacy
VIDEO
Al
Gore: The Climate Crisis - Interview by Jonathan
Freedland
An Inconvenient Truth - Movie Trailer
Polar bear. Photo:NOAA, Kathy Crane
Image: NASA
Hurricane. Photo: NASA