Worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning are dramatically altering ocean chemistry and threatening marine organisms, including corals, that secrete skeletal structures and support oceanic biodiversity. A landmark report released today summarizes the known effects of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on these organisms, known as marine calcifiers, and recommends future research for determining the extent of the impacts.
“This is leading to the most dramatic changes in marine chemistry in at least the past 650,000 years,” says Richard Feely, one of the authors and an oceanographer at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) in Seattle.
Experimental studies…show that coral calcification consistently decreases as the oceans become more acidic. This means that these organisms will grow more slowly, or their skeletons will become less dense, a process similar to osteoporosis in humans. As a result, reef structures are threatened because corals may be unable to build reefs as fast as erosion wears away the reefs.
Several other major ecosystems that are supported by marine calcifiers may be particularly threatened by ocean acidification. These include cold-water reefs, which are extensive structures that provide habitat for many important fish species, particularly in the coastal waters of Alaska.
A .pdf of the report is available here.
The head-in-the-sand crowd won’t be concerned about this. After all, aren’t fish considered brain food?
Washington: The Evergreen State.
No, seriously, though; it’s good this report came out when it did, considering we just burnt up a bunch of NOAA’s ships this 4th (hardware store must have been short on flags).
This is old news that has been previously reported.
Fortunately a few environmental groups such as http://www.naturesfuture.com and others are actively working on resolving this problem.
Unfortunately far too many environmental groups just take in money for the sense of maintaining their organizations and don’t actively do anything to combat these problems.
In the 20 years I have been diving, I have seen a marked decrease in the life in and around and on the coral reefs.
It is a shame that those who are in the positions to make the hard decisions never do. If the coral reefs go the growth of the rest of the Ocean life is in jeopardy. Even now, we have so over-fished the oceans that we need to curtail fishing for decades to allow them to try and rebound. Do you ever order COD to eat? These days, what is passed for COD is whatever happens to have been caught. The COD stocks are so low that it is highly possible that they may never come back. Amazing since this fish used to be one of the most abundant in the oceans. Orange Roughy? These were nearly depleted until someone realized that they are a VERY long lived fish with a long reproduction cycle that doesn’t produce many off-spring. If you have eaten Roughy lately, you have probably eaten a fish several decades old.
Thank god the Japanese are going to start whaling again…that should keep some of the pressure off of the stocks… (/sarcasm)
Thorndike
Mike — one of the differences between “it sure looks like there’s a problem” and real science — is that the latter requires empirical evidence and analysis.
Your conclusions may be correct; but, my reading [after reading the article and downloading the .pdf] of this report is that it was released yesterday!
“Unfortunately far too many environmental groups just take in money for the sense of maintaining their organizations and don’t actively do anything to combat these problems.”
Mike, where is your evidence for this statement? Links?
#2, digg is that way —>
Carbon dioxide from fossil fuel bruning? Then what caused the previous warm temperatures for the earth, or the high CO2 levels?
What do we do? Everyone wants to point fingers. Nobody does anything but point fingers.
Besides the CO2, I would have thought that all the acid rain making its way from the lakes into the oceans would be having an effect. While it took years of acid rain to kill a small lake, it is just taking a little longer to kill the ocean.
These days, I believe scientists about as much as I believe politicians and used car salesmen. If the research was paid for by the government, it’s going to support draconian government regulation. If it’s paid for by a private interest, it probably contradicts the government-funded report. Truth is they probably are both faked to give results that make their funder happy.
And this goes for research in any field, not just environmental. Smoking, drinking (one drink can kill you?), seat belts, the whole mess. I don’t believe any of them.
I would rather live free and die than live as a slave like I do now here in the O.U.S.A.
#7 Carbon dioxide from fossil fuel bruning? Then what caused the previous warm temperatures for the earth, or the high CO2 levels?
Volcanoes
I would rather live free and die than live as a slave like I do now here in the O.U.S.A.
Comment by Ivor Biggun — 7/6/2006 @ 11:22 am
Where and what is the O. U. S. A.? And if you really think that strongly about it, die.
OUSA = Occupied USA Occupied by a bunch of control freaks who have no understanding as to what true freedom is. And they have both “R” and “D” beside their name.
And if you think I should die, Mr. Hamdi, why don’t you come and help me? What a maroon….
Gee Ivor, you certainly have issues. Did you mother quit breast feeding too soon you when you were younger? Did you grow feeling abandoned, friendless, no one would play with you? Do you enjoy stripping your weapons then reassembling them? Caressing each cold steel part in you big masculine hands? Do you enjoy the company of hairy, sweaty men while running through some forested area pretending to be at war? Does your group salute a flag with some pointed arms on it? At night, do you gather around a big fire wearing white sheets, singing patriotic songs? Do you salute with a straight arm?