Perpetual Innovation

Category: ocean acidification

  • Oh my… The invasion of the Octopi!

    Swarms of Octopus Are Taking Over the Oceans:

    That is interesting. I had not heard Octopuses (octopi) were the “weeds” of the oceans. But it is interesting to find larger animals that can be a litmus test of the ocean environment.

    Oceans are not sucking up CO2 at the same rate as they used to. Acidification is moving up quickly. Reefs are under massive threat.

    Weeds are mother natures way of getting something growing in bad soil and going in destroyed areas.

    Here’s the original study in Scientific America:

    Octopus
    and Squid Populations Exploding Worldwide
    Fast-breeding cephalopods exploit gaps left by
    extreme climate change and overfishing 

    By Alexander Arkhipkin, The Conversation on May 25, 2016

    ‘via Blog this’

  • Sixth mass extinction is here, researcher declares.

    Sixth mass extinction is here, researcher declares:

    Ouch. It looks like we need to clean up our collective acts. With 41% of amphibians and 26% of mammals on a course for extinction if we don’t change our ways.

    “To history’s steady drumbeat, a human population growing in numbers, per capita consumption and economic inequity has altered or destroyed natural habitats. The long list of impacts includes:

    *Land clearing for farming, logging and settlement

    *Introduction of invasive species

    *Carbon emissions that drive climate change and ocean acidification

    *Toxins that alter and poison ecosystems

    Now, the specter of extinction hangs over about 41 percent of all amphibian species and 26 percent of all mammals, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which maintains an authoritative list of threatened and extinct species.

    “There are examples of species all over the world that are essentially the walking dead,” Ehrlich said.”

    ‘via Blog this’

  • Rising levels of acids in seas may endanger marine life, says study | Environment | The Guardian

    Rising levels of acids in seas may endanger marine life, says study | Environment | The Guardian

    Ouch!

    This has been a growing concern. The rapid increases in the CO2 levels — blasting past 400ppm as we speak — that has several scary consequences.

    First, there’s the greenhouse gas (GHG) thing and the rising temperatures of the air and land.

    Second, the excess CO2, at least some of it, is absorbed into the oceans. This increases the acidity of the oceans. Higher acid levels could wipe out shell fish, coral reefs and other things/animals that are critical for the health of the oceans (and of the planet).

    Here’s what the article and the scientists said:

    Hans Poertner, professor of marine biology at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany, and co-author of a new study of the phenomenon, told the Guardian: “The current rate of change is likely to be more than 10 times faster than it has been in any of the evolutionary crises in the earth’s history.”
    Seawater is naturally slightly alkaline, but as oceans absorb CO2 from the air, their pH level falls gradually. Under the rapid escalation of greenhouse gas emissions, ocean acidification is gathering pace and many forms of marine life – especially species that build calcium-based shells – are under threat.

    Ouch!

  • Rising ocean acidity tips delicate balance | TBO.com

    Rising ocean acidity tips delicate balance | TBO.com:

    There are lots of reasons to be concerned about rising ocean acidity. If it kills one year’s generation of oysters, that is disquieting. If it starts to kill of the next year, and the next year, that is a disaster.

    The kill off of the ocean reefs, pretty much world-wide, is in part because of ocean acidifciation. An estimate of 10% of ocean reefs are dead with some 60% at risk. That should rise to 90% and essentially 100% at risk by 2030 and 2050, respectively. Most of that impact is human caused, and a big part of that is fossil fuel related.

    The greenhouse gases raise the air temperatures (again, the big debate is about how much and how fast). The oceans raise in temperature at a much delayed rate, especially deep ocean. So it may be years or decades before ocean temperature rises are felt from the time of increase in air temperatures.

    But the other impact is directly from CO2 emissions. Land and water masses absorb the CO2 from the atmosphere. Maybe 30 to 40% go into water, mainly oceans. This ocean sink of carbon dioxide make the water more acidic. This in turn causes lots of problems for shell fish, coral reefs, etc…

    Double whammy for the oceans.

    ‘via Blog this’