Basic:
Oceans
Although the world's oceans may indeed appear virtually limitless, the rapid and unprecedented rise in atmospheric CO2 levels since the Industrial Revolution
may be pushing these vast bodies of water to their physiological limits. The burning of fossil fuels, deforestation,
and other human-activities that contribute to climate change could dramatically alter Earth's oceans, perhaps within
the next 20 years. Oceans cover two-thirds of the world's surface area and support the greatest diversity of life on
Earth. The world's oceans are its most important storehouses of carbon, sequestering an estimated total of 40,000 billion
tons of the greenhouse gas. This natural capacity is truly extraordinary, especially given that the atmosphere and
landmass combined sequester approximately 3,000 billion tons.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the same forces that contribute to surface temperature
increases are likewise warming the oceans. From the period between 1961 and 2003, global ocean temperature rose
.10° C, or .18° F, from the surface to a depth of 700 meters. This change represents an average across the
entire ocean, so both regional and temporal variations exist. The Atlantic Ocean accounts for the most significant
change. Many scientists believe warmer ocean temperatures lead to more intense tropical storms and hurricanes, although
the data are still uncertain.
One major and alarming consequence of ocean warming is clear. Coral reefs are dying all over the world, in a process
known as "coral bleaching." Corals are tiny animals that live in immense colonies and harvest nutrients
from a particular type of algae that inhabits their cells. Together, coral and algae create limestone reefs that
provide habitat and food for a vast array of life; they make up one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth. The
symbiotic relationship between coral and algae, however, is highly sensitive to temperature fluctuations. If temperatures
rise above the coral's physiological thresholds, the algae die, leaving the coral without color or its source of
nutrients. Corals can recover from short-term bleaching, but extended bleaching ultimately leads to mortality. In 1998,
when the warmest ocean temperatures on record were measured, the oceans also experienced a massive coral die-off.
Dead coral reefs will take decades or even centuries to recover, if they can recover. Dying coral communities will be
accompanied by losses in marine biodiversity, shoreline protection, fisheries, and medicinal products.
In addition to the fisheries lost as an impact of coral bleaching, fisheries are disappearing in other regions due an
increase in ocean "dead zones," another phenomenon linked to climate change. Earth is experiencing more intense winds,
which cause an upwelling in nutrient-rich waters from the deep sea. When this nutrient-rich water reaches the sunlight,
ocean plants known as phytoplankton bloom in great numbers. These tiny plants exist at the bottom of the food chain
and provide food for small fish and shellfish. Yet when more phytoplankton bloom than fish can consume, they die and
drift to the ocean floor, where bacteria decomposes them. The process of decomposition causes "hypoxia," or
oxygen depletion in the water. Fish and shellfish that cannot escape hypoxic water suffocate from lack of oxygen and
die. While ocean dead zones have been documented since at least the mid-nineteenth century, studies suggest their
frequency and duration are increasing, and new regions are experiencing the phenomena. A new dead zone, for example,
has recently arisen off the coast of Oregon and northern California, in an area once renowned for its fisheries.
In addition to raising ocean water temperatures, global warming is also causing the rapid and unprecedented acidification
of Earth's oceans. Approximately 50 percent of the carbon emitted from the burning of fossil fuels and other anthropogenic
activities over the last 200 years now resides in our oceans. This massive carbon influx has not occurred without
consequences. When carbon dioxide is taken up by seawater, carbonic acid is formed. Some of this carbonic acid is
neutralized by other components of seawater; however, the overall effect is acidification. Since the Industrial Revolution
in the eighteenth century, the pH of surface seawater has decreased 0.1 units, equivalent to a 30 percent increase in
hydrogen ions. This change represents a considerable acidification of the oceans and decreases seawater's subsequent
ability to absorb more carbon in the future. While the process of ocean acidification is well understood, its consequences
are not. Scientists do know that acidification will adversely affect the process of calcification, the process by which
animals such as corals and mollusks form plates and shells from calcium carbonate. Because such creatures are near the
bottom of the food chain, their survival is fundamental to the overall health of Earth's oceans.
One of the most widely known and well-documented consequences of a shifting climate is sea-level rise-an impact already
apparent in many Alaskan coastal villages. Sea-level rise is the result of thermal expansion (water expands as it warms)
and the loss of land-based ice, including glaciers and permafrost, as temperature rise. According to the IPCC's 2007 report,
the ocean rose 1.7 mm per year throughout most of the Twentieth Century. That rate has nearly doubled since 1993, when
satellite imagery revealed an increase of nearly 3 mm per year. This rate is not uniform across all regions; in fact, sea
levels are projected to decline in some regions. Conversely, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that Atlantic
Coastal water rose five to six inches above the global average. Alaska, too, is experiencing dramatic land loss. Higher
seas will erode shorelines; cause saltwater encroachment into inland water sources, including aquifers and creeks; and
result in more frequent flooding. The IPCC suggests that rising sea levels could convert 33 percent of Earth's wetlands
to open water-destroying a key ecosystem for many plant and animal species, along with nutrient uptake and water filtration
capacity. Scientists suggest that storm surges will become more severe as the climate changes. This impact will be
exacerbated by the eroded shoreline.
Changes in the world's oceans will have serious and likely devastating effects on low-lying coastal communities around
the world. The plight of the Native Alaskans of the tiny communities of Newtok and Kivalina has garnered worldwide attention.
Yet the residents of Newtok, Kivalina, and other Alaskan villages are certainly not the only people at risk of the effects
of climate change. The Florida coasts are renowned for their extensive, gently sloping beaches that create wide expanses
of white sand. Yet models predict that sea levels could rise 8 to 30 inches in the region, which would result in a shoreline
loss of hundreds of feet. This encroachment would extend beyond the beach and have severe effects for the region's tourism
and agricultural industry.
Further, saltwater encroachment into low-lying areas would likely seep into underground aquifers and contaminate water
used for municipal, commercial, and agricultural uses. Both the Hollywood and Big Cypress reservations of the Seminole
Tribe, as well as Miccosukee tribal lands, are located in the Everglades region, where land elevation averages about one
foot above sea level. This region is likely to be affected by rising seas and is at great risk for severe flooding,
both from the rise itself and from intense storm surges. Sea level and weather changes, as well as saltwater encroachment,
also threaten the plants and animals on which these tribes rely for their traditional lifestyles.
Earth's hydrologic cycle creates a close bond between the sea and freshwater sources. Changes in the ocean will impact
the availability of potable water for tribal communities throughout the United States. Oceanic impacts will not be
confined to coastal areas, though communities along our coasts will be the first to experience the impacts of these
changes. Tribes who rely on marine mammals, fish, and shellfish for subsistence, and who are most at-risk for severe
storm surges, erosion, and sea-level rise, will be forced to confront some of the most immediate, severe, and abrupt
impacts of Earth's changing climate.