Climate Change: Its Effect on Marine Ecosystems
by Steven Ganas
Climate change has been an on-going issue for decades. The more research that is done, the more real and terrifying it becomes. We think of climate change as the weather getting warmer or colder, but the damage is much broader. The world is covered by 70% water, and we hardly ever think about it. All marine ecosystems are affected by climate change. Which ones are most affected? What components do the most damage when it comes to aquatic ecosystems? What can we do to slow or stop the damage to the world’s waterways? Climate change is negatively affecting our marine ecosystem.
Firstly, it is important to assess which ecosystems are and will be the most affected by climate change. You might think that warmer climates would not be impacted as much as cold or freezing climates. The problem with the proposed question is that researchers have not conclusively decided if a certain climate will be affected more than another. The answers to climate change are hard to establish. Conducting scientific research and pulling data with constant variables proves difficult since the ocean is ever-changing. As stated by Thomas Wernberg, “the biophysical properties of the marine environment impose challenges to experiments, which can weaken their inference space” (Wernberg). Since the research is so difficult, scientists have narrowed the focus of their studies with 65% only focusing on one factor of climate change (Wernberg). This slows down the progress of the information that we discover, but it is necessary to draw valid data. Even with precautions, 49% of studies had issues with experimental design (Wernberg). Polar ecosystems are melting and are “expected to be sea-ice free during summer starting in the mid-to-late twenty-first century” (Doney) while tropical and subtropical climates are going from warm to hot. Negative effects of climate change include coral bleaching. Coral reef coverage around the world has declined by 30–50% since the 1980s. 75% of the world’s reefs face threats from environmental change and, increasingly, a warming climate (Chen). Overall, the consensus is that all ecosystems are at risk. The ocean is interconnected, and the warming of the water temperatures these ecosystems exist in negatively affects all organisms as they fight to adapt and cope with the changes.
The second proposed question deals with which aspects of climate change affect marine ecosystems the most. Like the first question, there is no definitive answer for this, but there are many contributing factors. Pollution is a major factor in considering climate change. Pollution is the action of polluting especially by environmental contamination with man-made waste (Merriam-Webster). Almost everything humans do pollutes the environment, but the most significant human influence on climate change is primarily through fossil fuels. The sourcing and use of fossil fuels emits greenhouse gases (DONEY). An example of greenhouse gas is CO2 which is the most talked about polluting emission that has a direct correlation with climate change and specifically global warming. CO2 is the chemical compound Carbon Dioxide. Carbon Dioxide is one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms and is a common byproduct of burning fossil fuels. It is what you exhale when you breathe. Scientists note that “Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the most critical problems because its effects are globally pervasive and irreversible on ecological timescales” (Doney). Since CO2 production is so abundant, its correlation with global warming is strong.
The rising temperature of the air also affects the ocean by raising water temperatures. Rising water temperatures create a plethora of issues when it comes to marine ecosystems. An example of this is that polar ice is melting. Polar ice melt raises the temperature of surrounding water and eradicates viable land for animals and microorganisms which interact with the marine ecosystems they are neighbors with. Warmer marine ecosystems such as the Mediterranean or the Great Barrier Reef are not safe from these effects either. Sea surface temperature has been warming in the Mediterranean and is on pace with future projections (Kim). The world’s coral reefs have one of the strongest rates of decline from climate change. There is a “projected decline of coral reefs by a further 70–90% at 1.5 °C global warming with larger losses (> 99%) at 2 °C” (Chen). The change in wind patterns has created more stagnant water and has also stopped the natural movement of water. According to Kim Go-Un, there is a decrease in water and wind movement when temperatures rise. This affects the ecosystems directly, but it also creates a problem that affects all marine life. The stagnation of the winds slows the movement of water creating warmer pockets. The warmer pockets have led to more powerful hurricanes as has been seen in Florida. Waters in the Gulf of Mexico are as much as 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than contemporary averages between 1981 and 2010 (Sunnucks). Additionally, it is stated that these “types of climate change effects could be a precursor to more intense storms with bigger and more dangerous storm surges and flooding in the future” (Sunnucks).
The final question is how can we slow or reverse the negative response of marine life to climate change? If greenhouse gases are one of the main contributors to global warming, which is the main cause of climate change, we need to focus on it. If humans reduced the carbon footprint, it would significantly slow the negative effect climate change has on marine ecosystems. If we changed the way we consume energy or altered the output of CO2, we could minimize our impact. Additionally, finding true green alternatives for energy and industrial production could eliminate the problem we have created. Most green processes we participate in are not wholly green. They may shift emissions to a different stage; for example, an electric car may have a larger carbon footprint at the end of production compared to its counterpart. Instead of burning fuel to drive, the machine may use electricity that was made through a fossil fuel burning power plant. Green options produce less (but not zero) pollution. Scientific research may discover ways for the world to cope with climate change or negate the impact it has on the environment.
To conclude, there are questions yet to be answered but ongoing research will soon uncover the mysteries of climate change and its effects on marine ecosystems. We do not know which marine ecosystems are the most impacted; however, it is safe to say that all ecosystems are affected. The specific components of climate change that affect overall global warming are the same when it comes to marine ecosystems. Global warming created using fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases impacts marine life. Rising water temperatures, arctic melt, and changed wind patterns destroy ecosystems all over the globe by changing the complex dynamic of ecosystems and contributing to more powerful natural disasters. To slow down the changes, we should look to alternative sources of energy and true green alternatives. Climate change has been an on-going issue for decades. The more research that is done, the more real and terrifying it becomes. We think of climate change as the weather getting warmer or colder, but the damage is much broader. The world is covered by 70% water, and we hardly ever think about it.
Works Cited
Chen, Deliang. “Impact of Climate Change on Sensitive Marine and Extreme Terrestrial Ecosystems: Recent Progresses and Future Challenges.” AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, vol. 50, no. 6, June 2021, pp. 1141–44. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-020-01446-1
Doney, Scott C. “Climate Change Impacts on Marine Ecosystems .” Annual Reviews, 25 Aug. 2011, https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-marine-041911-111611
Kim, Go-Un, et al. “Climate Change over the Mediterranean and Current Destruction of Marine Ecosystem.” Scientific Reports, vol. 9, no. 1, Dec. 2019, pp. 1–9. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55303-7
Sunnucks, Mike. “‘A Whole Different Animal’: Hurricane Ian Raises New Questions about Intensifying Storms, Evacuation Orders, Climate.” Arcadian, The (Arcadia, FL), sec. Latest Weather, 9 Oct. 2022. NewsBank: America’s News,
infoweb-newsbank-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/18D0AC2F315AFE98 Accessed 9 Oct. 2022.
Wernberg, T., Smale, D.A. and Thomsen, M.S, “A Decade of Climate Change Experiments on Marine Organisms: Procedures, Patterns and Problems.” Global Change Biology, vol. 18. 2012. pp. 1491-1498. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02656.x