Latest news with #marineheatwaves
Malay Mail
16 hours ago
- Health
- Malay Mail
More acid, less oxygen: Scientists say Earth's ‘blue ally' buckling hard and fast under climate strain
PARIS, June 2 — Oceans have absorbed the vast majority of the warming caused by burning fossil fuels and shielded societies from the full impact of greenhouse gas emissions. But this crucial ally has developed alarming symptoms of stress – heatwaves, loss of marine life, rising sea levels, falling oxygen levels and acidification caused by the uptake of excess carbon dioxide. These effects risk not just the health of the ocean but the entire planet. Heating up By absorbing more than 90 per cent of the excess heat trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases, 'oceans are warming faster and faster', said Angelique Melet, an oceanographer at the European Mercator Ocean monitor. The UN's IPCC climate expert panel has said the rate of ocean warming – and therefore its heat uptake – has more than doubled since 1993. Average sea surface temperatures reached new records in 2023 and 2024. Despite a respite at the start of 2025, temperatures remain at historic highs, according to data from the Europe Union's Copernicus climate monitor. The Mediterranean has set a new temperature record in each of the past three years and is one of the basins most affected, along with the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, said Thibault Guinaldo, of France's CEMS research centre. Marine heatwaves have doubled in frequency, become longer lasting and more intense, and affect a wider area, the IPCC said in its special oceans report. Warmer seas can make storms more violent, feeding them with heat and evaporated water. The heating water can also be devastating for species, especially corals and seagrass beds, which are unable to migrate. For corals, between 70 per cent and 90 per cent are expected to be lost this century if the world reaches 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming compared to pre-industrial levels. Scientists expect that threshold -- the more ambitious goal of the Paris climate deal -- to be breached in the early 2030s or even before. Relentless rise When a liquid or gas warms up, it expands and takes up more space. In the case of the oceans, this thermal expansion combines with the slow but irreversible melting of the world's ice caps and mountain glaciers to lift the world's seas. The pace at which global oceans are rising has doubled in three decades and if current trends continue it will double again by 2100 to about one centimetre per year, according to recent research. Around 230 million people worldwide live less than a metre above sea level, vulnerable to increasing threats from floods and storms. 'Ocean warming, like sea-level rise, has become an inescapable process on the scale of our lives, but also over several centuries,' said Melet. 'But if we reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we will reduce the rate and magnitude of the damage, and gain time for adaptation'. This picture shows the head of a probe analysing the acidity of water at the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea as carbon dioxide emitted by human activities changes the chemical composition of the oceans, making the water more corrosive and complicating the life and growth of calcareous organisms like oysters, crabs, sea urchins, lobsters, and corals. — AFP pic More acidity, less oxygen The ocean not only stores heat, it has also taken up 20 to 30 per cent of all humans' carbon dioxide emissions since the 1980s, according to the IPCC, causing the waters to become more acidic. Acidification weakens corals and makes it harder for shellfish and the skeletons of crustaceans and certain plankton to calcify. 'Another key indicator is oxygen concentration, which is obviously important for marine life,' said Melet. Oxygen loss is due to a complex set of causes including those linked to warming waters. Reduced sea ice Combined Arctic and Antarctic sea ice cover – frozen ocean water that floats on the surface – plunged to a record low in mid-February, more than a million square miles below the pre-2010 average. This becomes a vicious circle, with less sea ice allowing more solar energy to reach and warm the water, leading to more ice melting. This feeds the phenomenon of 'polar amplification' that makes global warming faster and more intense at the poles, said Guinaldo. — AFP
Free Malaysia Today
21 hours ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Oceans feel the heat from human climate pollution
Signs of ocean stress have appeared, including heatwaves, marine species loss, rising sea levels, oxygen depletion, and acidification. (EPA Images pic) PARIS : Oceans have absorbed the vast majority of the warming caused by burning fossil fuels and shielded societies from the full impact of greenhouse gas emissions. But this crucial ally has developed alarming symptoms of stress – heatwaves, loss of marine life, rising sea levels, falling oxygen levels and acidification caused by the uptake of excess carbon dioxide. These effects risk not just the health of the ocean but the entire planet. By absorbing more than 90% of the excess heat trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases, 'oceans are warming faster and faster', said Angelique Melet, an oceanographer at the European Mercator Ocean monitor. The UN's IPCC climate expert panel has said the rate of ocean warming – and therefore its heat uptake – has more than doubled since 1993. Average sea surface temperatures reached new records in 2023 and 2024. Despite a respite at the start of 2025, temperatures remain at historic highs, according to data from the Europe Union's Copernicus climate monitor. The Mediterranean has set a new temperature record in each of the past three years and is one of the basins most affected, along with the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, said Thibault Guinaldo, of France's CEMS research centre. Marine heatwaves have doubled in frequency, become longer lasting and more intense, and affect a wider area, the IPCC said in its special oceans report. Warmer seas can make storms more violent, feeding them with heat and evaporated water. The heating water can also be devastating for species, especially corals and seagrass beds, which are unable to migrate. For corals, between 70% and 90% are expected to be lost this century if the world reaches 1.5C of warming compared to pre-industrial levels. Scientists expect that threshold – the more ambitious goal of the Paris climate deal – to be breached in the early 2030s or even before. When a liquid or gas warms up, it expands and takes up more space. In the case of the oceans, this thermal expansion combines with the slow but irreversible melting of the world's ice caps and mountain glaciers to lift the world's seas. The pace at which global oceans are rising has doubled in three decades and if current trends continue it will double again by 2100 to about one centimetre per year, according to recent research. Around 230 million people worldwide live less than a metre above sea level, vulnerable to increasing threats from floods and storms. 'Ocean warming, like sea-level rise, has become an inescapable process on the scale of our lives, but also over several centuries,' said Melet. 'But if we reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we will reduce the rate and magnitude of the damage, and gain time for adaptation'. The ocean not only stores heat, it has also taken up 20 to 30% of all humans' carbon dioxide emissions since the 1980s, according to the IPCC, causing the waters to become more acidic. Acidification weakens corals and makes it harder for shellfish and the skeletons of crustaceans and certain plankton to calcify. 'Another key indicator is oxygen concentration, which is obviously important for marine life,' said Melet. Oxygen loss is due to a complex set of causes including those linked to warming waters. Combined Arctic and Antarctic sea ice cover – frozen ocean water that floats on the surface – plunged to a record low in mid-February, more than a million square miles below the pre-2010 average. This becomes a vicious circle, with less sea ice allowing more solar energy to reach and warm the water, leading to more ice melting. This feeds the phenomenon of 'polar amplification' that makes global warming faster and more intense at the poles, said Guinaldo.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Oceans feel the heat from human climate pollution
Oceans have absorbed the vast majority of the warming caused by burning fossil fuels and shielded societies from the full impact of greenhouse gas emissions. But this crucial ally has developed alarming symptoms of stress -- heatwaves, loss of marine life, rising sea levels, falling oxygen levels and acidification caused by the uptake of excess carbon dioxide. These effects risk not just the health of the ocean but the entire planet. - Heating up - By absorbing more than 90 percent of the excess heat trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases, "oceans are warming faster and faster", said Angelique Melet, an oceanographer at the European Mercator Ocean monitor. The UN's IPCC climate expert panel has said the rate of ocean warming -- and therefore its heat uptake -- has more than doubled since 1993. Average sea surface temperatures reached new records in 2023 and 2024. Despite a respite at the start of 2025, temperatures remain at historic highs, according to data from the Europe Union's Copernicus climate monitor. The Mediterranean has set a new temperature record in each of the past three years and is one of the basins most affected, along with the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, said Thibault Guinaldo, of France's CEMS research centre. Marine heatwaves have doubled in frequency, become longer lasting and more intense, and affect a wider area, the IPCC said in its special oceans report. Warmer seas can make storms more violent, feeding them with heat and evaporated water. The heating water can also be devastating for species, especially corals and seagrass beds, which are unable to migrate. For corals, between 70 percent and 90 percent are expected to be lost this century if the world reaches 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming compared to pre-industrial levels. Scientists expect that threshold -- the more ambitious goal of the Paris climate deal -- to be breached in the early 2030s or even before. - Relentless rise - When a liquid or gas warms up, it expands and takes up more space. In the case of the oceans, this thermal expansion combines with the slow but irreversible melting of the world's ice caps and mountain glaciers to lift the world's seas. The pace at which global oceans are rising has doubled in three decades and if current trends continue it will double again by 2100 to about one centimetre per year, according to recent research. Around 230 million people worldwide live less than a metre above sea level, vulnerable to increasing threats from floods and storms. "Ocean warming, like sea-level rise, has become an inescapable process on the scale of our lives, but also over several centuries," said Melet. "But if we reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we will reduce the rate and magnitude of the damage, and gain time for adaptation". - More acidity, less oxygen - The ocean not only stores heat, it has also taken up 20 to 30 percent of all humans' carbon dioxide emissions since the 1980s, according to the IPCC, causing the waters to become more acidic. Acidification weakens corals and makes it harder for shellfish and the skeletons of crustaceans and certain plankton to calcify. "Another key indicator is oxygen concentration, which is obviously important for marine life," said Melet. Oxygen loss is due to a complex set of causes including those linked to warming waters. - Reduced sea ice - Combined Arctic and Antarctic sea ice cover -- frozen ocean water that floats on the surface -- plunged to a record low in mid-February, more than a million square miles below the pre-2010 average. This becomes a vicious circle, with less sea ice allowing more solar energy to reach and warm the water, leading to more ice melting. This feeds the phenomenon of "polar amplification" that makes global warming faster and more intense at the poles, said Guinaldo. bl/klm/mh/phz
BBC News
4 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Portsmouth uni and GB Row Challenge research finds UK seas are warming
Data, collected by rowers who circumnavigated Great Britain and analysed by university researchers, has found that sea temperatures have risen.A report by the University of Portsmouth and GB Row Challenge found UK seas were, on average, 0.39C (32.7F) warmer in 2023 compared to data was collected by a crew who took part in the 2023 GB Row Challenge which saw participants travel more than 2000 miles (3219 km) around of environmental pollution at the University of Portsmouth, Fay Couceiro, said: "We expect fluctuations but we don't want to see this increasing number of marine heatwaves." Some regions, including the Celtic and Irish Seas and the northern North Sea, experienced temperature increases exceeding 2C (35.6F), during a marine said the data gives an important indication of the health of our oceans."Understanding it allows us to better protect the species that are there," she added that sessile organisms like mussels and oysters, which are unable to move themselves to cooler waters. were most affected by the rising temperatures. Environmental DNA, underwater sound and microplastic data was also collected by the the surprising findings was a fragment of Bakelite plastic found in Clacton-on-Sea north of the Thames was the first commercially produced synthetic plastic, which was widely used in the early 1900s and largely discontinued in the 1940s."Despite being phased out of production decades ago, this possible century-old relic has persisted, highlighting how plastics can linger in ecosystems for generations," Ms Couceiro said."This longevity contributes to the accumulation of microplastics, which infiltrate our soils, waterways, and even the food chain, posing risks to both environmental and human health. The finding serves as a reminder of the urgent need for sustainable materials and robust waste management practices to address the escalating global plastic crisis." 'Citizen science' Team Ithaca, an all-female rowing crew, were responsible for gathering the group also went on to become the fastest female team to row around Great Row Challenge founder, William de Laszlo said: "Team Ithaca's expedition highlights the potential of citizen science in contributing to environmental research."Their dedication and resilience have not only set a new benchmark in ocean rowing but have also provided critical insights into the challenges facing Britain's coastal waters." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Climate
- Bloomberg
Octopus Invasion in English Channel Flags Marine Heat Wave Risks
Some English fisherman have hit the jackpot this season, hauling in tons of octopus, but the invasion of eight-legged molluscs also highlights the threat from marine heat waves. Persistent high-pressure weather patterns this spring accelerated the heating of an already unusually warm north Atlantic, blocking cooling westerly winds and smothering currents that stir up colder water layers deep in the ocean, said Paul Moore, a climatologist with Ireland's Met Éireann.
