Table of Contents
Ocean Warming
The majority of the extra heat from greenhouse gas emissions is absorbed by the ocean, which raises ocean temperatures. Coral bleaching and the disappearance of marine fish and mammal breeding habitats are two effects of rising ocean temperatures that have an impact on marine species and ecosystems.
Ocean Warming Introduction
The advantages that humans gain from the ocean are also impacted by rising ocean temperatures, which endanger food security, increase the spread of diseases, produce more extreme weather events, and reduce coastal protection. To avoid the severe, irreversible effects of ocean warming, it is imperative to meet the mitigation goals outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement and keep the global average temperature increase well below 2°C. Ocean ecosystems can be safeguarded from the consequences of ocean warming by creating marine protected zones and putting in place adaptive measures, such as precautionary catch restrictions to avoid overfishing.
Ocean Warming & Issues Associated
The increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, cause the ocean to absorb enormous amounts of heat. The ocean had absorbed more than 93% of the surplus heat from greenhouse gas emissions since the 1970s, according to the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report, which was released in 2013. As a result, ocean temperatures are increasing.
Due to the ocean’s capacity to absorb surplus heat, people have been protected from even more rapid climatic shifts. Global temperatures would have increased far more than they have so far without this marine buffer. According to the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC, which was published in 2007, the planet has warmed by 0.55°C during the 1970s. According to a Grantham Institute research, the Earth would have warmed by 36°C between 1955 and 2010 if the same amount of heat that entered the upper 2,000 m of the ocean had instead entered the lowest 10 km of the atmosphere.
Ocean Warming Impact
As a result of sea water’s thermal expansion and melting continental ice, ocean warming causes deoxygenation, or a drop in the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water, and sea level rise. The basic benefits that humans gain from the ocean owing to marine animals and ecosystems are impacted by both ocean acidification (the reduction in pH of the ocean due to its uptake of CO2) and rising temperatures.
Impact on marine species and ecosystems
Increasing temperatures pose very serious hazards to marine life, including high mortality rates, the loss of breeding grounds, and widespread movements as species look for more hospitable environmental circumstances. Temperature increases also have an impact on coral reefs, leading to coral bleaching and an increase in mortality.
Impact on humans
According to a 2012 report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, 4.3 billion people get around 15% of their animal protein from marine and freshwater catch fisheries and aquaculture. Millions of people throughout the world rely on the fishing and aquaculture industries for a living. Ocean warming poses a severe threat to food security and people’s livelihoods around the world by changing the distribution of fish stocks and raising the susceptibility of fish species to illnesses. Ocean warming is expected to cause economic losses that range from tens to hundreds of millions of dollars.
The plants and animals that construct reefs, such corals and mangroves, which shield coasts from erosion and sea level rise, are similarly impacted by rising temperatures. Low-lying island nations in the Pacific Ocean will be particularly affected by rising sea levels and erosion, which will destroy housing and infrastructure and force people to evacuate.
More powerful hurricanes are developing as a result of the increase in sea surface temperatures, and El Nio events are becoming stronger, bringing droughts and floods. In some parts of the world, this can have a considerable impact on health and socioeconomic conditions.
The rise and spread of illnesses in marine organisms have been connected to warming ocean temperatures. When ingesting marine creatures or getting an infection from wounds exposed to marine settings, humans run the danger of contracting these diseases directly.
Ocean Warming Steps to be Taken
Limiting greenhouse gas emissions
The Paris Agreement’s mitigation goals must be swiftly met if we’re to keep the rise in the world’s average temperature to well under 2°C above pre-industrial levels. This will help mitigate the significant and long-lasting effects of rising temperatures on ocean ecosystems and the services they provide.
Protecting marine and coastal ecosystems
Marine habitats that are important for ecology and biology can be conserved and protected with the help of well-managed protected areas. This will control human activity in these places and stop the environment from being harmed.
Restoring marine and coastal ecosystems
Ecosystem components that have previously sustained harm can be repaired. This can involve creating artificial structures like rock pools that serve as substitute homes for living things or increasing a species’ resistance to warming temperatures through assisted breeding methods.
Improving human adaptation
Governments can implement policies to keep fisheries production within realistic bounds, such as enacting precautionary catch limits and removing overfishing-related subsidies. Coastal setback zones that forbid all or some types of construction along the waterfront might lessen the harm caused by erosion and coastal flooding. To predict and manage marine disease outbreaks, new monitoring techniques can be created.
Strengthening scientific research
Governments can spend more money on scientific research to measure and track the effects of ocean warming. This will make it easier to create and implement necessary and appropriate mitigation and adaptation strategies by giving more exact data on the scope, nature, and effects of ocean warming.
Ocean Warming UPSC
One-third to half of the rise in sea level worldwide is attributable to the ocean’s water expanding due to heat that has been stored there. At a depth of 0 to 700 metres, the majority of the additional energy is stored at the surface. The ocean saw the warmest decade since at least the 1800s over the past ten years. The year 2022 had the highest worldwide sea level and the warmest ocean ever recorded.
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