Fishing, Aquaculture and Tourism |

Regardless of whether humans are the cause of global warming it is undeniable that rising temperatures affect the ocean and its sea life. Understanding how climate change affects the world’s oceans can help people prepare their economies and shorelines. Researching this important topic will undoubtedly be important as policy makers face the future.

Rising Ocean Temperatures

NOAA scientists have confirmed that ocean temperatures have risen in the past few decades. In the December 2006 article “Warming of the World Ocean” on the NOAA 200th Celebration site, the organization explains how the world’s oceans have warmed by 0.06 degrees Fahrenheit from 1955 to 1998. The article explains how this may sound like a small amount but when viewed in terms of energy this rise in temperature is equivalent to detonating 100 million Hiroshima sized atom bombs. Releasing this energy would warm the bottom 6.2 miles of atmosphere by 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Fortunately the ocean is excellent at storing heat.

Melting Ice Caps Have Global Effects

Although global temperatures have risen 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century Arctic temperatures have risen about twice as much reports Charles Hanley of the Associated Press in the August 2009 article, “Vast expanses of Arctic ice melt in summer heat”. He quotes NOAA as saying that Arctic summers may not have any ice at all within 30 years. This has obvious implications for marine life such as polar bears which will drown if they can’t find ice to rest on. However, melting ice caps also have a direct impact on humanity as sea levels rise and climate patterns change.

Rising Sea Levels

Arctic ice holds a great deal of water and as that ice melts sea levels will rise. This is just what Sven Egenter of Reuters points out in his September 2009 article “Sea levels could rise more than a meter by 2100: WWF”. The WWF takes into account the melting ice of Greenland and western Antarctica in its estimate of a three-foot sea level rise. However, even if only the Arctic ice caps are taken into account, sea levels can be expected to rise by seven to twenty-three inches according to NOAA’s “Climate Change” on its Ocean and Coastal Resource Management page. This rise will affect coastal communities forcing many human populations to recede inland.

Rising Temperatures Lead to More Climate Change

The NOAA “Climate Change” article goes on to say that global warming could cause more intense hurricanes and that many regions of the world may see more rainfall. Further, the May 2007 Science Daily article “Melting of The Greenland Ice Cap May Have Consequences for Climatic Change” says that melting ice caps mean an influx of fresh water into the ocean. This could change ocean currents which in turn could cause abrupt climate change including global cooling. On the other hand, Egenter quotes the WWF as saying the melting Arctic ice caps could lead to greater global warming as thawing soils release greater quantities of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. Obviously more research needs to be done in this area.

Global Warming Changes Ocean Ecosystems

Rising temperatures have a profound impact on marine life – and not just for polar bears. The NOAA “Climate Change” article explains how marine creatures are adapted for certain temperatures and as temperatures change species will migrate to the temperatures they are suited for. Those that can’t migrate fast enough, for example clams, could die out. The September 2, 2009 Associated Press article “Change is seen in Atlantic from climate, fishing” says that new population distributions have already been noticed off the United State’s East Coast due to climate change and human fishing practices.

What about Carbon Dioxide?

Most scientists agree that global warming is caused by humans’ carbon dioxide releasing activities. However, even if carbon dioxide weren’t responsible for global warming there are plenty of reasons to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Human health is affected by releasing these pollutants into the air. Carbon dioxide affects ocean health as well by changing the ocean’s chemistry in a process known as ocean acidification. This has profound effects on corals and other marine life.