Oceans and Marine Systems

Posted on by

Oceans cover the largest portion of Earth’s surface (71% of Earth’s surface is water and oceans makeup 96% of Earth’s water supply). It’s extremely important to consider and be concerned about our oceans and what climate change and human activity is inflicting upon them. Sea-level rise, ocean acidification, overfishing, pollution, ecological collapse, dead zones, and more. Within each of these larger problems are more sub-problems. Sea-level rise and polar ice caps melting, ocean acidification and the bio-pump, overfishing and bycatch, and pollution and micro plastics (the Pacific Garbage Patch is currently 1.6 million square kilometers). Humanity relies heavily on oceanic processes and marine resources, if more sustainable practices were used and enforced the ocean (and the global environment) wouldn’t be in such a compromised position. The ocean also acts as a HUGE carbon sink so not only do human lives revolve around the ocean in the literal resource sense but it is also taking in so much of the carbon humanity produces. The ocean can’t take in carbon forever, the effects of this are already been seen in phytoplankton and zooplankton, the ocean is becoming warmer and nutrient deficient which will have cascading effects on marine food chains.

102 thoughts on “Oceans and Marine Systems”

  1. Sydney, I think you make the issue of ocean acidification vivid in our minds, and I hope that we’re all thinking of ways to limit our carbon footprints individually, so perhaps we can set off a chain of reverse unintended consequences.

  2. This makes me think of what the bayside of Cape Cod are experiencing in regards to the warmer waters. Seals are beginning to travel closer to land to feed which results in sharks also retreating towards land. Hence why we are hearing about more sharks on the Cape

  3. I really thought that it was insightful about how you included the effects the ocean getting warmer had on the food chain within the ocean. I’ve heard about the oceans getting warmer a bit but I never really thought about it in that way. I wonder if this has any affect on sharks coming closer to shore on beaches in the northeast?

  4. Climate change’s impact on the oceans is very interesting to me and I think you did a great job at explaining the long term issues the world may face if our oceans continue to slowly get destroyed.