As oceans fall ill, Washington bureaucrats squabble

By Les Blumenthal | McClatchy Newspapers • Published November 07, 2009 WASHINGTON — Off the coast of Washington state, mysterious algae mixed with sea foam have killed more than 8,000 seabirds, puzzling scientists. A thousand miles off California, researchers have discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a swirling vortex roughly twice the size of Texas […]

Graph of the Day: Aragonite Saturation and Ocean pH Change

Changes in surface ocean pH relative to pre-industrial values for different atmospheric CO2 stabilization levels, 380 ppm and 650 ppm plotted over existing shallow-water coral reef locations (shown as magenta dots). Results are obtained by adding model-predicted perturbations in geochemical fields to modern observations, except for the Arctic Ocean where results are model simulations only […]

Ocean acidification hits larval stage of shellfish

Relatively minor increases in ocean acidity brought about by high levels of carbon dioxide have significant detrimental effects on the growth, development, and survival of hard clams, bay scallops, and Eastern oysters, according to researchers at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. In one of the first studies looking at the effect […]

Desperate plan to freeze coral samples as reef ecosystems die

By Matt McGrathBBC News, Copenhagen The prospects of saving the world’s coral reefs now appear so bleak that plans are being made to freeze samples to preserve them for the future. A meeting in Denmark took evidence from researchers that most coral reefs will not survive even if tough regulations on greenhouse gases are put […]

Ten percent of the Arctic Ocean to be corrosive to shellfish within a decade

Arctic waters are rapidly turning acidic, even faster than originally thought. New research from oceanographer Dr. James Orr of the Laboratory for the Sciences of Climate and Environment in Paris predicts that the Arctic Ocean will be corrosive enough to dissolve shells of clams, mussels and others within the next decade. Host Jeff Young talks […]

We will be billions of dollars poorer when coral reefs die

By Shanta Barley The world’s coral reefs “earn” $172 billion every year, but they’re on the brink of collapse, economist says The world’s coral reefs save us $172 billion every year, but they’re on the brink of collapse (PDF) because of political inertia, an ecological economist has told the global Diversitas biodiversity conference in Cape […]

Graph of the Day: Ocean Acidification Models, 1765 and 2100

… Model output showing the impact of ocean acidification on the ocean’s carbonate saturation state in 1765, 2040, 2060, 2080, and 2100 (NOAA). Ocean Acidification Models 1765, 2040, 2060, 2080, and 2100 Technorati Tags: ocean acidification,shellfish decline,ecosystem disruption,carbon dioxide

Arctic Ocean acid 'will dissolve shells of sea creatures within 10 years'

The Arctic Ocean is becoming acidic so quickly that it will reach corrosive levels within 10 years, a leading scientist has warned.  By Matthew MoorePublished: 4:33PM BST 04 Oct 2009 Waters around the North Pole are absorbing carbon dioxide at such a rate that they will soon start dissolving the shells of living sea creatures. […]

Oceans face climate-change crisis: 'Life as we know it is going to end'

World’s nations must drastically reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, author says By MONIQUE BEAUDIN, The Gazette, Published: Thursday, September 17, 2009 For more than two years, Canadian writer Alanna Mitchell travelled the world’s oceans, meeting scientists whose research was uncovering a crisis in the planet’s large bodies of water. Overfishing, coastal dead zones and rising water temperatures […]

World Bank spends billions on coal-fired power stations despite own warnings

By Ben Webster, Environment Editor The World Bank is spending billions of pounds subsidising new coal-fired power stations in developing countries despite claiming that burning fossil fuels exposes the poor to catastrophic climate change. The bank, which has a goal of reducing poverty and is funded by Britain and other developed countries, calls on all […]

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