Fish Migration
- Fish are moving towards the poles in response to ocean warming
- This disrupts fisheries around the world
- Studies predict that climate change will force hundres of fish northward, hitting North American fisheries that depend on certain fish.
Coral Bleaching
- Coral reefs are sensitive to increases in temperature
- longer and more severe "marine heat waves" could push ocean animals and ecosystems to their limits
- This results in the starvation, shrinkage, and death of the corals that support the thousands of species that live on coral reef
Drowning Wetlands
- Wetlands normally grow vertically and fast to keep up with higher water levels
- Rising sea levels have made it so wetlands can no longer keep their blades above water and are drowning
- Coral reefs and sea grass meadows are also in danger of drowning as they can only photosynthesize in shallow water
Ocean Acidification
- Oceans absorb about 1/3 of the carbon dioxide humans send into the atmosphere (about 22 million tons a day)
- This absorption has slowed global warming, but has caused the standard measure of acidity to drop 0.1 unit, which is a 25% increase in acidity
- This is damaging many ocean species that use calcium carbonate to form their skeletons and shells
- If water becomes too acidic, calcium carbonate formation is disrupted