Climate Change

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.

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.

The International Maritime Organization’s recent decision to adopt tighter emission rules for the global shipping fleet is a step in the right direction in an industry where emissions have been practically unregulated. Ship emissions are blamed for 60,000 deaths worldwide each year – a sincere public health threat.

The new rules, however, only address sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions. Meanwhile, carbon dioxide emissions from the same ships remain a major, and often overlooked, contributor to global warming.

The world’s shipping fleet comprises 300,000 ships, each a city block in length, and transports 90 percent of the world’s trade. In 2007, the fleet emitted nearly twice as much carbon dioxide as all of America’s cars combined. If the fleet were a country, it’d be ranked as the sixth largest producer of CO2, between Japan and Germany.

Not to mention that these ships use the dirtiest fuel available, creating a high percentage of unusable sludge that must be burned.

On Tuesday night, I took a deep breath and braced for more bad news as I settled down to watch Frontline's two-hour climate investigation, "Heat."

The program, hosted by Frontline's Martin Smith, focuses on how the world's largest governments and corporations have responded -- or not -- to the worst environmental crisis of our time. But first, as the New York Times review points outs, there's quite a bit of familiar-sounding history about carbon emissions and climate treaties.

What makes it worth watching, though, are the many penetrating interviews with top energy executives. Smith confronts, among others, executives from Exxon Mobil and China's coal giant, Shenhua Energy, about their lack of action on renewable energy -- and receives mostly non-answers, as one might anticipate. (In one memorable Michael Moore-esque moment he tells GM's Vice president for environmental affairs in regards to the company's lagging environmental innovation, "Toyota is eating your lunch.")

Cold-water corals (also known as deep-sea corals) are in as much danger from the corrosive effects of ocean acidification as those found in tropical waters.

Scientist James Orr recently found that population reductions in Arctic cold-water corals were analogous to those expected to occur in tropical corals. Orr and other scientists determined that by 2100, more than two-thirds of cold-water corals will be in waters corrosive to their calcium carbonate skeletons.

A new report looks at the effects of increased ocean acidity on how sound travels in seawater, which scientists have long suspected to be influenced by pH.

The report found that drops in pH affect the ocean's chemical balance and consequently lower its sound absorption, especially to frequencies below 10 kilohertz (kHz). The researchers say that by the 1990s, the oceans absorbed 15% less sound than during the previous century, which will likely affect the communications of ocean wildlife as well as military operations, by making sound travel farther and increasing the ocean's ambient noise level. Already, scientists have discovered that blue whales, which normally communicate below1 kHz, have started calling at lower frequencies.

Well, it's official. NOAA has declared a state of disaster for the Chesapeake Bay blue crab fishery due to poor environmental conditions leading to commercial failure.

The declaration means probable funding for the watermen hard hit by the economics of the situation, and hopefully, it means the crabs will get a chance to recover from overfishing, compounded by pollution and warming waters.

The crabs' numbers have fallen by more than 70 percent since the 1990s -- did you get that? -- 70 percent in less than two decades.

What would the Chesapeake Bay region be without its signature dish, crab cakes? If this disaster declaration doesn't spur real environmental action, we may some day find out.

News from Miriam at the Oyster's Garter: There's a new documentary about ocean acidification coming in early 2009.

A Sea Change follows "retired educator and concerned grandfather Sven Huseby back to stunning ancestral sites (Norway, Alaska the Pacific Northwest) where he finds cutting-edge ocean research underway. His journey of self-discovery brings adventure, surprise and revelation to the hard science of acidification."

Ocean acidification is one of those climate change nasties that most people have a general idea about. But when it comes to its long-term consequences, they're blissfully ignorant, which is why a documentary like this has the potential to be a great thing, in my opinion (and if Al Gore has anything to say about it.) Watch the trailer below: