In some resects our oceans are saving us from the worst that global warming is imposing on us. But they are paying a price!
Every day we see examples of how our warming planet is affecting our homes, fields, forests, deserts and mountains. But we often forget over 70% of our planet; our oceans seem so large and formidable that little could disrupt them. But our oceans are huge assets as we terrestrial organisms benefit from their retaining over 90% of the heat generated from global warming and absorbing a third of the carbon dioxide we emit. Without our oceans, the atmosphere would be tens of degrees hotter than currently. If we were marine mammals, we’d be paying much more attention to what’s happening beneath the waves.
As a result ocean are warming, though because of the properties of water, not as quickly as the atmosphere. Meanwhile, as they suck up carbon dioxide, our oceans become more acidic. The impacts of these trends spell trouble for our fisheries and coastal economies, and for marine life generally.