Stressed krill first sign of damage from ocean acidification – ‘We are entering an unknown territory of marine ecosystem change, and exposing organisms to intolerable evolutionary pressure’

  By Andrew Darby7 October 2013 (Sydney Morning Herald) – Turns out it’s the little things we need to worry about in climate change. When they’re in trouble, a great polar ecosystem may be, too. The oceans are now absorbing so much carbon dioxide they are acidifying at an unprecedented rate, according to the International […]

Graph of the Day: Global mean surface temperature increase as a function of cumulative total global CO2 emissions

27 September 2013 (IPCC) – Global mean surface temperature increase as a function of cumulative total global CO2 emissions from various lines of evidence. Multi-model results from a hierarchy of climate-carbon cycle models for each RCP until 2100 are shown with coloured lines and decadal means (dots). Some decadal means are indicated for clarity (e.g., […]

Health of oceans declining fast, ‘at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history’

By Roger Harrabin, Environment analyst3 October 2013 (BBC News) – The health of the world’s oceans is deteriorating even faster than had previously been thought, a report says. A review from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), warns that the oceans are facing multiple threats. They are being heated by climate […]

Massive port projects threaten integrity of Great Barrier Reef – ‘The government is putting the interests of foreign mining companies ahead of the protection of our reef’

By Ian Lloyd Neubauer 23 September 2013 (TIME) – A dead cat in the in-tray. That’s what Greenpeace called the newly elected Australian government’s inheritance of a proposal to build the largest coal port in the world at Abbot Point in the northeastern state of Queensland. A decision is required, and the stakes couldn’t be […]

Quick summary of new IPCC climate report: By 2100, Earth warms 4°C, sea level rises 28-98 cm, dry areas become drier, wet areas become wetter, summer Arctic sea ice disappears

  By Stefan Rahmstorf27 September 2013 (RealClimate) – The time has come: the new IPCC report is here! After several years of work by over 800 scientists from around the world, and after days of extensive discussion at the IPCC plenary meeting in Stockholm, the Summary for Policymakers was formally adopted at 5 o’clock this […]

Ocean acidification drives Oregon oyster hatchery to Hawaii – ‘I don’t care if you think it’s the fault of humans or not. If you want to keep your head in the sand, that’s up to you. But the rest of us need to get it together.’

By Craig Welch12 September 2013 HILO, Hawaii (Seattle Times) – It appears at the end of a palm tree-lined drive, not far from piles of hardened black lava: the newest addition to the Northwest’s famed oyster industry. Half an ocean from Seattle, on a green patch of island below a tropical volcano, a Washington state […]

Graph of the Day: CO2 and acidity measurements at Monterey Bay, 1993-2010

8 August 2013 (CalEPA) – Carbon dioxide (CO2) is considered to be the largest and most important anthropogenic driver of climate change (see Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases indicator, page 19). CO2 is continuously exchanged between land, the atmosphere, and the ocean through physical, chemical, and biological processes (IPCC, 2007c). The ocean absorbs nearly one quarter of […]

Volcanic vents show how ocean acidification threatens marine life

By Craig Welch15 September 2013 NORMANBY ISLAND, Papua New Guinea (Seattle Times) — Katharina Fabricius plunged from a dive boat into the Pacific Ocean of tomorrow. She kicked through blue water until she spotted a ceramic tile attached to the bottom of a reef. A year earlier, the ecologist from the Australian Institute of Marine […]

The oceans are acidifying at the fastest rate in 300 million years. How worried should we be?

By Brad Plumer31 August 2013 (Washington Post) – The world’s oceans are turning acidic at what’s likely the fastest pace in 300 million years. Scientists tend to think this is a troubling development. But just how worried should we be, exactly? It’s a question marine experts have been racing to get a handle on in […]

Rising ocean acidity will exacerbate global warming

By Eliot Barford25 August 2013 (Nature) – The slow and inexorable increase in the oceans’ acidity as they soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere could itself have an effect on climate and amplify global warming, according to a new study. Acidification would lead certain marine organisms to emit less of the sulphur compounds that […]

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial