Effects of Global Warming in the Ocean
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Effects of Global Warming in the Ocean
Introduction
According to a myriad of studies carried out regarding the adverse changes in climate, global warming has been revealed as an extenuating effect that is slowly damaging the global environment daily. With the inimical forces it has on marine life, these ecosystems have been deemed endangered (Archer, Brodie & Rauscher, 2019). According to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment reports, the extent of the damaging impact of global warming is increasing per decade despite the several measures adopted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Besides that, global warming has resulted in the ocean warming effect, which has adversely affected aquatic life and their respective habitats (Bryndum‐Buchholz et al., 2019). Thesis: Global warming has significantly affected warmer ocean temperatures, rising sea levels, and marine life.
Warmer Ocean Temperatures
Laffoley & Baxter (2016) note that a consensus of many studies reveals an increase in the ocean heat content that has been extant over a decade now. According to the International Panel on Climate Change assessment report of 2010, ocean temperatures have increased within a range of 0.09-0.13 degrees centigrade over the decades. Additionally, the IPCC fifth assessment report of 2013 denoted that the oceanic bodies absorbed approximately 93% of the excess heat arising from the greenhouse gases that have caused a considerable rise in ocean temperatures. Consequently, these warm temperatures have damaged the wildlife and animal habitats in the sea. Firstly, the rising temperatures have perpetuated coral bleaching and loss of other marine vegetation hence resulting in loss of breeding sites for the marine animals. In such cases, animals are unable to reproduce, thus a reduction in the population of these animals, which affects not only the marine ecosystem but also the human community as well (Heneghan, Hatton & Galbraith, 2019). They have destroyed the habitats for marine animals, thereby causing their relocation, which exposes them to dangers like predators. Also, warm ocean temperatures have been linked with causing an increased spread of diseases among marine animals. Additionally, the rise of temperatures has led to de-oxygenation in the oceans, which has stimulated deaths and a reduction in aquatic animals.
The Rise in Sea Levels
Climate scientists have established from a study to gauge the coastal tide that a rise in sea levels has increased over the past century. According to the International Panel on Climate Change, warming of the ocean is a factor that has accelerated the rise in the sea level (Stocker et al., 2013). A recent literature review suggests that this undulated thermal expansion in the sea is a result of improper usage of heat. Ideally, heat cannot be stored; rather, it is transferred or shared between bodies. Oceanographers have noted that the ocean warming effect is related to Charles’s law of volumes that states that the volume of a given mass is proportional to its temperature (Laffoley & Baxter, 2016). Therefore, as the sea temperatures increase, so does the amount of water, thus, causing a rise in sea levels.
Conversely, a more recent modeled research established that the ocean content level has increased since 1500 of the upper 500m. Additionally, increased oceanic content has been associated with the melting of land and base ice. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), scientists have established that melting ice can trigger the planet to heat up and cause fluctuations in the current circulation systems. As a result, ocean levels rise, thus increasing the risks of tsunamis and flooding as well. A recent study reveals that the coastal regions of the US are the most susceptible to the impacts of the rising sea level.
Marine Life
According to Roxy et al. (2016), decades of researches on marine ecosystems demonstrate that the extent of pollution in oceans is endangering the marine lives at a high rate. With the increased integration of agents of pollution such as industrial and agricultural chemicals, residential wastes, and air pollutants oceanic ecosystems have been deemed to be at risk of extinction (Gall & Thompson, 2015). For instance, scientists have revealed that through air pollution, pesticides and dirt are carried and deposited to oceans. Oceanographers also argue that plastic is among the most significant factors affecting marine life. Production of plastic in the US increases every year, and so does the disposal areas as well (Mearns et al., 2016). Conventionally, there is no established measure to dispose of plastics; therefore, poor disposal, especially in water bodies, is at its peak. Plastics destroy sea animals, their habitat and affect their mating rituals, which may cause species to be extinct. According to the EPA, an increase in ocean temperature has an inimical effect on marine life. Ocean warming destroys aquatic vegetation such as corals and mangroves; hence, loss of habitats and breeding grounds for marine animals.
Conclusion
Global warming in the ocean has resulted in extreme maladies that have staked marine life. Through thermal expansion that leads to ocean warming, the rise in sea levels that jeopardize both human and marine lives, melting of land, and base ice are enough troubles that may eliminate the human population if not controlled early enough. Also, pollution is an extravagant aspect that threatens marine life as well. These effects hold human existence at contempt; therefore, it is empirical for the United States government and other nations to take note of this rising pandemic before it falls out of hand.
References
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