Why isn't this page one news around the planet? Greenhouse gas 'threatens marine life'
Source: Copyright 2005, Independent Date: February 4, 2005 Byline: Michael McCarthy Gigantic changes to the oceans, leading to the extinction of marine life from cod to coral reefs, are likely because of the main greenhouse gas causing global warming, British scientists warned yesterday. Researchers have found a new and potentially devastating danger from the huge volumes of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by industry and transport, already threatening the planet with climate change. Now, they warn, it is also rapidly turning the world's oceans acid as it is dissolved in seawater, and putting an enormous array of marine life at risk. Ocean acidification may wipe out much of the microscopic plankton at the base of the marine food web, and have a knock-on fatal effect up through shellfish to major human food species such as cod. It is already having a serious impact on organisms such as coral, and putting a question mark against the future of coral reefs. The findings about acid seas, which are recent, are causing alarm in the international scientific community because they represent a huge threat to the world until now unknown. They were set out in detail at the conference on climate change at the Met Office headquarters in Exeter, in a paper by scientists from Britain's Plymouth Marine Laboratory. Sir David King, the chief scientific adviser, who will be reporting on the conference to Tony Blair, said: "This is the first time it [the research] has been pulled together. I think it is very serious." Dr Carol Turley, the Plymouth laboratory's head of science, who presented the paper, said ocean acidification represented "potentially a gigantic problem for the world". She added: "It's urgent indeed to warn people what's happening. Many of the marine species we rely on to eat could well disappear. In cartoon terms, you could say people should prepare to change their tastes, and switch from cod and chips, to jellyfish and chips." Remarkably, the findings about acidifying seas constituted the second revelation of a new global danger at the conference, which was called by the Prime Minister as part of Britain's efforts to focus attention on climate change during the UK presidency of the G8 group of rich nations and the European Union. On Tuesday, the head of the British Antarctic Survey, Professor Chris Rapley, disclosed that the vast West Antarctic ice sheet, previously thought to be stable, may be beginning to disintegrate, which would cause a sea-level rise around the world of more than 16ft. Although a growing number of studies about ocean acidification have been done, it is only recently that the whole picture has been put together, and stark nature of the threat appreciated. "The world scientific community is only just waking up to this," said Dr Turley, who with her colleagues has spent weeks briefing senior scientists on the problem in a range of government bodies from English Nature to the Department of Trade and Industry. The world's oceans have always taken up and given off large volumes of naturally occurring carbon dioxide as part of the carbon cycle. But since the Industrial Revolution, the amounts have greatly increased, now more rapidly. The scientists believe 400 billion tons of man-made CO2 - half that produced - have been taken up by the seas, and much more is going in as the world economy relentlessly expands. But the extra volumes are now causing a simple chemical reaction with the seawater - "O-level chemistry," Dr Turley said - in which the CO2 and the water (H2O) react to produce carbonic acid (HCO3). This is changing the chemical composition of the sea from slightly alkaline to acidic, producing an environment in which many vital organisms may not survive. If, for example, the plankton on which cod larvae feed disappear, the cod will go, and something else, perhaps jellyfish, will move into their niche in the ecosystem. Trials on organisms grown in seawater with raised CO2 levels, from plankton to scallops, indicate many species are likely to be affected. The increasing acidification is affecting coral already and another paper at the conference suggested that in 30 years all the world's coral reefs may be dying because of it. The conference closed last night, with a statement saying: "In many cases, the risks are more serious than previously thought. This is likely to affect the entire marine food chain." Originally posted at: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/environment/story.jsp?story=607579 ClimateArk users agree to the following as a condition for use: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of climate change and related environmental, scientific, political, human rights, economic, democracy, and social justice issues. This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. All efforts are made to provide accurate, timely pieces; though ultimate responsibility for verifying all information rests with the reader. Reading on line, downloading or other use of this information signifies acceptance of these conditions and the Full Disclaimer, and may occur on these terms only. See the Climate Ark - Climate Change and Renewable Energy Portal at http://www.climateark.org/ Networked by Forests.org, Inc., [EMAIL PROTECTED] February 05, 2005 The Other CO2 Problem: Ocean Acidification Ocean_acidity Increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 are causing the increasing acidification of our oceans, to the rising concern of many scientists. Unrelated to climate change, this is an issue of basic chemistry: atmospheric CO2 is absorbed by and reacts with seawater to form carbonic acid (H2CO3). Increasing acidity could have profound affects on basic marine life. Concern about this effect began to accelerate in 2003. A short paper, published then by researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the journal Nature, suggested that unabated anthropogenic increases in CO2 in the atmosphere may drive changes in ocean pH values greater than any experienced in the past 300 million years. A number of global scientific organizations have since recognized the importance of increasing acidification in surface oceans and are sponsoring research programs: the International Global Biosphere Programme (IGBP); the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR); the Commission On Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Pollution (CACGP); and the International Council for Science (ICS). SCOR and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC�part of UNESCO) sponsored a Symposium on The Ocean in a High-CO2 World in May 2004. A subsequent report�Priorities for Research on the Ocean in a High-CO2 World�summarizes the symposium and puts forward its overwhelming conclusion as to the need for more research in this area. In August 2004, the Royal Society in the UK launched a study into �the potentially catastrophic consequences for marine life� caused by the increasing acidity of the oceans. The Royal Society report will be published this year. At the scientific conference Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change held this last week at the Met Office HQ in Exeter, Carol Turley of the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, a member of the Royal Society working group, presented a paper on the impact of increasing CO2-driven acidification on marine ecosystems. Dr Carol Turley, the Plymouth laboratory�s head of science...said ocean acidification represented �potentially a gigantic problem for the world.� She added: �It�s urgent indeed to warn people what�s happening. Many of the marine species we rely on to eat could well disappear. In cartoon terms, you could say people should prepare to change their tastes, and switch from cod and chips, to jellyfish and chips.� (The Independent) Yet another reason to push for greater reductions in CO2 emissions. Resources: * Anthropogenic CO2 and Ocean pH, Nature 425, 365 (25 September 2003) * Priorities for Research on the Ocean in a High-CO2 World * Reviewing the Impact of Increased Atmospheric CO2 on Oceanic pH and the Marine Ecosystem (presentation) February 05, 2005 in Emissions Diseases and the acidification of the oceans Warming global temperatures may also impact on ocean upwelling patterns, fostering increased blooms of plant plankton (phytoplankton), many of which produce toxins. Such blooms have been associated with the deaths of marine species throughout the world. Reduced disease immunity due to organochlorine pollution intake and a warm winter with low rainfall are likely to be two (of various) influences that led to the mass die-off. The implications of ozone depletion and its effect on cetaceans are also poorly understood. An increase in the concentration of ultraviolet light hitting the earth, amongst various other effects, may impact on cetacean food abundance, or even increase the risk of cancer for cetaceans. Scientists in the U.S have also recently predicted a considerable reduction in the pH of the world�s oceans in the next three centuries. By 2300, a pH reduction of 0.7 units has been predicted. As with climatic warming, this is not the first time that this process has happened in the earth�s history. Both global warming and ocean acidification are caused by rising levels of CO2; when carbon dioxide dissolves in the ocean it makes it more acidic. The difference between acidification at the present time and past occurrences is that past events occurred over millions of years, involving slow processes that involved tectonics and biological evolution. Although there has been little published research on the acidification phenomenon, it is expected that coral reefs, calcareous plankton and other organisms whose skeletons or shells contain calcium carbonate may be most affected by an acid �erosion� process. Although most pH change is expected to occur near to the ocean�s surface, organisms living in the deep-ocean may also be particularly sensitive. It is likely that several layers of marine food chains will be affected by the acidification process, although it is too early to predict any direct impacts on cetacean populations. WDCS is the global voice for the protection of whales, dolphins and their environment University of Dundee 17.08.2004 University Professor To Lead Investigation On Rising Acidity In Oceans Professor John Raven of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee has just been appointed chair of the Royal Society�s working group on ocean acidification. The task of the working group is to assess the available evidence on the extent of acidification in oceans and its impact on marine life. The Royal Society, the UK�s academy of science is launching the working group and study because of concerns that the world�s oceans are becoming increasingly acidic, due to pollution from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Oceans �mop up� carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and this, in turn, increases the acidity of the water. Rising levels of the gas from the unmanaged burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal may be exacerbating this. Professor Raven will contribute his specialist skills on how photosynthetic organisms acquire carbon to the working group�s investigation. Currently, the impact of this rising ocean acidity on marine life is largely unknown. However, there are fears that it could particularly affect corals and sea creatures with hard shells. This is because acidification seems to decrease the availability of calcium carbonate from the water - which these creatures use to produce their hard skeletons. Increased acidity may also directly affect the growth and reproduction rates of fish, as well as affecting the plankton populations which they rely on for food, and have potentially disastrous consequences for marine food webs. Professor Raven, a Principal Investigator in the Division of Environmental and Applied Biology said: �Our oceans may be doubly besieged. The same pollution that we believe is heating the world�s oceans through global warming is also altering their chemical balance. This study will look at what impact increased acidity levels might have on marine life and re-emphasise the urgent need to respond to the spectre of climate change, an issue identified by the UK Government as a priority for its Presidency of G8 in 2005.� ------------------------ Yahoo! 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