Climatic Changes

in the Ocean and

What Will Happen

Melissa Wartman &

Karalyn Brennan
Climate Change…
Climate change is a long-term shift in climate measured
by changes in temperature, precipitation, winds, and other
indicators. Climate change can involve both changes in
average conditions and changes in variability, including,
for example, changes in extreme conditions
Climate Change and the Ocean
There are several ways climate change will effect the
Oceans including:
Ocean Acidification
A Warmer Ocean
Melting Poles
Rising Sea Level
Changes to the Ocean’s major currents
Ocean Acidification
The ocean, is one of the largest natural reservoirs of carbon

The increased anthropogenic atmospheric carbon dioxide from human

fossil fuel burning is being absorbed by our oceans. Already the ocean
has absorbed about one-third of the CO2 humans have released.

As CO2 dissolves in seawater, the pH of the water decreases, which is

called "acidification"

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, ocean pH has dropped

globally by approximately 0.1 pH units
Ocean Acidification Cont’d
When CO2 dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, which releases
hydrogen ions into solution, increasing acidity

These hydrogen ions then combine with carbonate ions in the water to form
bicarbonate

Carbonate ions are the basic building blocks for the shells of many marine
organisms. Thus the formation of bicarbonate through this chemical
reaction removes carbonate ions from the water, making them less available
for use by organisms

The combination of increased acidity and decreased carbonate concentration

has implications for many functions of marine organisms, many of which
we do not yet fully understand
Effects of Ocean Acidification

Acidification directly harms the many ocean plants and animals

that build shells of calcium carbonate—including many tropical
reef- building corals, cold- water corals, mollusks and other
scallops, crustaceans, and some microscopic plankton

Increasing CO2 levels may elevate the CCD to some degree,

affecting upwelling zones first

Research in this area is still in its infancy so scientist are still

unclear on all of the effects of ocean acidification
Rising Sea Level
With warmer temperatures, comes melting polar ice sheets which
release water back into our oceans, increasing the global ocean water
level

The melting of sea ice does not increase sea level, because floating
ice displaces an amount of seawater that is precisely equal to its mass

Large continental ice sheets are found on Greenland and Antarctica.

The Greenland ice sheet contains enough water to raise the sea level
by approximately 7 meters. The Antarctica ice sheet contains much
more water- some 60 to 70 m of equivalent sea level rise
Rising Sea Level Cont’d
The Greenland ice sheet is
expected to melt first at is at a
lower latitude and much
smaller than the Antarctic ice
sheet.

The rising sea level will have

many negative impacts on
Earth, the main one being loss
of cities and land on the
coasts.
Melting Ice caps and sheets
The largest blocks of ice in the Arctic are breaking up

The summer polar ice cap has shrunk some 20 percent since
1979

Melting ice caps affect local residents and wildlife, and could
have a far-reaching impact worldwide through rising sea
levels and global temperatures
Effects of Melting Ice caps and
sheets
The polar ice reflect sunlight into space, so when the ice caps the
sunlight is absorbed by the ocean and land instead. As a result, the
planet becomes warmer, more ice melts and the cycle repeats itself
In recent decades the average temperature in the Arctic has risen at
nearly double the rate of temperatures elsewhere in the world
Melting Arctic ice caps could cause oceans around the world rise.
These rising sea levels result in freshwater contamination,
flooding, beach erosion, and could have a devastating impact on
island nations and cities
A Warmer Ocean
Overall, the world's oceans are warmer now than at any point in the
last 50 years; This top layer is now getting warmer at a rate of 0.2°F
per decade

Thermal mixing of water and nutrients slows when the upper layer of
ocean water reaches about 12C, like in clear warm tropical waters

The capacity of the oceans to store heat means that a water temperature
rise could significantly increase he atmospheric temperature, which in
turn would affect weather and climate all over the world
A Warmer Ocean
Changes to Ocean Circulation
Shutdown or slowdown of the thermohaline circulation is
a postulated effect of climate change

A shutdown or slowdown of the thermohaline circulation

could trigger localised cooling in the North Atlantic and
lead to cooling, or lesser warming, in that region.
Changes to Ocean Circulation
Studies suggest that the Gulf Stream weakens with cooling
and strengthens with warming, and could therefore be
influenced by climate changes

A disruption in the currents is believed to be able to cause

rapid, catastrophic climate changes, via melting icecaps,
violent salinity changes, and thermohaline circulation
disruptions, that could cause a new iceage
A New Ice age?
When the Arctic is no longer cold due to climate change, the Gulf
Stream will not cool when it reached the Arctic, so it will not
become dense enough to sink, and the thermohaline circulation
will be disrupted

This disruption will stop warm water from being transported

North from the tropics, so the Northern latitudes will not be
warmed

This is hypothesized to potentially lead to another ice age

References
http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=F2DB1FBE-1

http://www.conservation.org/Documents/Climate%20Change%20on%20the%20Ocean.pdf

http://ioc3.unesco.org/oanet/FAQacidity.html

Journal Article: Ocean Acidification: The Other CO 2 Problem by Scott C. Doney, & et al.

The Earth System by Lee R. Kump, & et al.

Natural Resource Defense Counsel

Environmental Protection Agency

Adam, D. (2006). Warmer Oceans Storing Climate Change Dangers. The Guardian
Other Resources
Polar Ice Caps Melting:

The Effects of Polar Ice Caps Melting | eHow.com

http://www.ehow.com/list_7242287_effects-polar-ice-caps-m
elting.html#ixzz1M46L0mAm