Global warming threatens ocean ecosystems

The Earth's climate is expected to change much faster than normal over the coming decades due to the warming influence of human caused increases in greenhouse gas emissions. The world's oceans, which cover almost 70 per cent of the planet's surface, are likely to show the effects of climate change in dramatic and devastating ways, the Pew Center warns.

"Such high rates of change will probably result in local if not total extinction of some species, the alteration of species distributions in ways that may lead to major changes in their interactions with other species, and modifications in the flow of energy and cycling of materials within ecosystems," warns the report, Coastal and Marine Ecosystems and Global Climate Change: Potential Effects on US Resources.

"Climate change could likely be the 'sleeper issue' that pushes our already stressed and fragile coastal and marine ecosystems over the edge," said Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. "Particularly vulnerable are coastal and shallow water areas already stressed by human activity, such as estuaries and coral reefs. The situation is analogous to that faced by a human whose immune system is compromised and who may succumb to a disease that would not threaten a healthy person."

Ecosystems at risk

Critical coastal ecosystems such as wetlands, estuaries and coral reefs are particularly vulnerable to climate change, the report concludes. Such ecosystems are among the most biologically productive environments in the world, but their location at the interface between the land and ocean environments exposes them to a wide variety of human and natural stressors.

The added burden of climate change may further degrade these valuable ecosystems, threatening their ecological sustainability and the flow of goods and services they provide to human populations, the report warns.
Temperature changes in coastal and marine ecosystems will influence the metabolism of marine species, and alter ecological processes such as productivity and species interactions, the researchers said.

Species are adapted to specific ranges of environmental temperature, the report explains. As temperatures change, the geographic ranges of different species may expand or contract, creating new combinations of species that will interact in unpredictable ways. Species that are unable to migrate or compete with other species for resources may face local or global extinction.

Warming seas may force some coldwater
species like walruses, to shift their ranges.
� Captain Budd Christman/NOAA

Rising seas

Changes in precipitation and sea level rise will have far reaching consequences for the water balance of coastal ecosystems, the report notes. Increases in precipitation and runoff will increase the risk of coastal flooding, while decreases in precipitation may trigger droughts.

Meanwhile, sea level rise will gradually inundate coastal lands, the study warns. Coastal wetlands may migrate inland with rising sea levels, but only if they are not obstructed by human development.

Changing currents

Climate change is also likely to alter patterns of wind and water circulation in the ocean environment. Such changes may influence the vertical movement of ocean waters, increasing or decreasing the availability of nutrients and oxygen to marine species.

Changes in ocean circulation patterns can also cause substantial changes in regional ocean and land temperatures and the geographic distributions of marine species.

"It is increasingly apparent that the United States needs a strategy to address the very real threat of climate change," said Claussen. "The longer we wait, the graver the risks - and the cost of averting them."

The report, prepared by researchers from three universities, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the International Pacific Halibut Commission, is based on current projections for climate change in the next century. It is the eighth in a series of Pew Center reports examining the potential impacts of climate change on the US environment. Other Pew Center reports have focused on domestic and international policy issues, climate change solutions, and the economics of climate change.

Source: Environment News Service, August 14, 2002.

To read the full report, click on the link below:
Coastal and Marine Ecosystems and Global Climate Change: Potential Effects on US Resources

Related link:

Global warming threatens marine life

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