Oceans in the news: November

Here are a couple of ocean related articles that have been in the news recently!

17th November – ‘Emissions of CO2 driving rapid oceans 'acid trip'’ (BBC, 2013)

This article focuses on ocean acidification and follows suitably on from some of my latest posts. Following the 2012 Third Symposium on the Ocean in a High-CO₂ World, the article discusses the Summary for Policy Makers report that has just been released and that presents a summary of all the ocean acidification research that was raised at the symposium.

The report states that due to anthropogenic emissions of CO₂, the world’s oceans are acidifying at an unprecedented rate and this is happening quicker than at any point in the past 300 million years. Unsurprisingly, this has had many implications on marine life, including a 30% species loss in some ocean ecosystems. Furthermore, it has been proposed that by 2100, acidification could increase by 170%.

I would definitely advise giving the article a quick read over as it provides a good introduction to some of the main points in the report and to ocean acidification in general. If you have some more time on your hands though, take a glance at the full report here!

21^st November – ‘English seas get new marine conservation zones’ (BBC, 2013)

27 new marine conservation zones (MCZs) will be created around the English coast, in order to protect sea-life from dredging and bottom-trawling.

These are two anthropogenic fishing methods detrimental to ocean habitats and ecosystem health. Bottom-trawling is an extremely invasive method and consists of a net that is dragged across the ocean floor, often removing corals and sponges with it. Dredging, on the other hand, consists of a rakelike device that scrapes across the ocean bed. Both pose a major threat to any bottom-dwelling organisms and can dramatically alter biological communities. For instance, the disturbance of coral and sponges from bottom-trawlers can destroy many species’ habitats that they use for breeding, shelter and feeding and normally results in reduced population numbers (The Ocean Conservancy, 2002). This is just one example of how these two fishing methods can impact marine ecosystems; there are many, many more.

Amongst those species protected by this governmental scheme are seahorses, coral reefs and oyster beds. Even though it is a step in the right direction towards protecting these species from anthropogenic fishing activities, the number of MCZs proposed is nowhere near the 127 recommended by scientists for an ‘ecological coherent’ network. Hopefully more can be done in the next three years where there are plans to designate two more phases of MCZs.  

25^th November – ‘New widget counts global warming happening at 4 Hiroshima atomic bombs per second’

This is a really cool new widget that tries to put global warming into terms that the general public can more easily visualize. Its aimed to try and debunk the myth that global warming has stopped or paused. Now I know it is not directly ocean related, but the changes we are seeing in our seas are all related to global warming! Check it out!