Global Warming

Thermal windows, or the tolerable temperature ranges of some marine organisms, have evolved to be very narrow, possibly as a means to reduce the amount of energy and time spent on certain biological activities, such as feeding, growth, or reproduction. Scientists studying the impacts of climate change on North Sea Atlantic cod, a large fish with a narrow thermal range, attribute its recent northerly expansion into colder waters to climate change.

This coming February, IMAX will release its latest 3D creation, Under the Sea 3D, which will take viewers into the waters of Southern Australia, New Guinea, the Indo-Pacific, and beyond, to capture extraordinary wildlife on film -- and document the effects of global climate change on marine wilderness. The documentary, which will be narrated by Jim Carrey, is a "sea-quel," so to speak, to IMAX's Deep Sea 3D, which is still out in theaters.

Oceana is a promotional partner for the film, so check here for guest blogs from the filmmakers in the coming months. For now, we have several webisodes to whet your appetite. In this one, the team visits the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Check out the other webisodes, too!

Scientists analyzing the seasonal oscillations of carbonate concentration and pH in the Southern Ocean have found a naturally occurring wintertime low in carbonate concentration that, when coupled with anthropogenic CO2 absorption, may cause further depletion in carbonate concentration, hastening ocean acidification. Their analyses led the scientists to predict an undersaturation of carbonate concentration in the Southern Ocean within just 30 years time, which is sooner than previously expected.

This morning I attended the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's rally to Save the Bay. The rally was a lead-up to today's meeting of the Executive Council of the EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program. On Oct. 29, the CBF, along with its allies, filed a notice of intent to sue the EPA for its failure to enforce the federal Clean Water Act and clean up the Bay by 2010 as it promised in a 2000 agreement.

There were a few hundred people gathered outside Union Station, most wearing symbolically black shirts with the words, "The Bay is Slowly Dying" and chanting "Don't Delay! Save the Bay!"

Yesterday ABC's World News Tonight aired a segment about ocean acidification featuring the lead author, Ellycia Harrould-Kolieb, of our new Acidification Report, Acid Test.

In the segment, Harrould-Kolieb says that if we reach 450 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, "We can pretty much say goodbye to coral reefs." Right now we're at 385 ppm.

Corals, lobsters, and many other ocean creatures are unlikely to withstand the increasing acidity of the oceans brought on by global warming, according to a new report from Oceana.

Our new report, "Acid Test," examines the far-reaching consequences of the accumulation of heat-trapping gases, particularly carbon dioxide, in the world's oceans.

High levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in seawater deplete the carbonate that marine animals need for their shells and skeletons. Creatures that are at risk if trends continue include corals, commercial fish, including shrimp and lobster; and pteropods, or swimming sea snails, which are an important part of the base of polar and sub-polar food chains.

We are calling for a reduction of CO2 emissions in industrialized countries by 25 to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

The key findings of the report include:

Until recently, models analyzing the effects of global warming on coral bleaching have been strictly based upon thermal stress projections, but a new study highlights the added impact of ocean acidification, yielding startling results.

Through experimental research, Dr. Ken Anthony led a team of scientists who found that the productivity and calcification rates of corals and important coral reef builders, crustose coralline algae, significantly decline under higher temperatures coupled with increased CO2 and high light exposure, suggesting that high CO2 levels may exacerbate coral bleaching events in warmer waters.

Using climate models, researchers from UK Met Office, the environmental and weather service for the UK, and Reading University have found that ocean salinity is increasing in waters of the mid-Atlantic, caused by a reduction in rainfall coupled with increased evaporation, both consequences of global warming.

The escalating salinity of the mid-Atlantic can only be explained by human-caused global climate change, the researchers concluded. What this means exactly for marine life and ecosystems appears uncertain, but such simulated climate models are helping scientists understand and project future oceanic reactions to global warming, such as the anticipation of a drier climate for southern Europe and the Mediterranean.

Tomorrow marks the official last day of the 2008 sea turtle nesting season. While this year's nesting data shows an increase in nesting from last year, Oceana scientists point out that the long-term data still show a serious decline in loggerhead sea turtle nesting.

Nesting data from the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge in Florida, the most important nesting habitat for loggerhead sea turtles in the United States, shows a slight rise in nesting from dismal 2007 levels. This is most likely due to the fact that female loggerhead nesting is cyclical -- they only nest every two to four years.

The latest report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) affirms that as a result of the colossal loss of sea ice, autumn air temperature in the Arctic is a record 5º C (9°F) above normal, since the warming trend began in the mid-20th century.

As temperatures continue to rise due to human generated carbon dioxide emissions, white snow and ice give way to darker water and land beneath them. These darker surfaces absorb more heat than what would be reflected by the lighter snow and ice. This results in a positive feedback loop, causing more snow and sea ice to melt, exacerbating the Arctic warming.