What’s Happening in the Ocean, and Why It Matters to You and Me
- Author: Katharine Hayhoe
- Full Title: What’s Happening in the Ocean, and Why It Matters to You and Me
- Category: articles
- Document Tags: #planet
- URL: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whats-happening-in-the-ocean-and-why-it-matters-to-you-and-me/
Highlights
- the majority of that estimated 380 zettajoules of heat, nearly 90 percent of it, is going into the ocean. (View Highlight)
- The ocean also absorbs about 30 percent of the carbon humans produce, adding up to almost 200 billion tons since the industrial revolution. (View Highlight)
- Nearly half the observed increase in sea level over the last century was caused by the thermal expansion of the ocean; as water warms, it takes up more space. Warmer ocean temperatures also power stronger atmospheric rivers, hurricanes, typhoons and tropical cyclones that dump greater amounts of water. They’re altering ocean currents and weather patterns, increasing evaporation so when it rains, it rains harder. And they’re harming marine ecosystems: bleaching coral reefs that support an estimated 25 percent of the ocean’s biodiversity; exacerbating algal blooms that trigger fish kills; and driving the poleward migration of marine species. These migrants range from the phytoplankton that produce at least half the oxygen we breathe, to the fish and shellfish stocks on which more than three billion people depend for their primary source of protein (View Highlight)