Nature & Environment
Melting Ice and Warmer Temperatures Linked to Massive Oxygen Loss in the World's Oceans
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Jan 29, 2015 08:12 AM EST
It turns out that about 10,000 to 17,000 years ago, there was a massive loss of oxygen in the ocean when ice sheets abruptly melted. The new findings could explain similar changes that are occurring in the ocean today.
"This is a global story that knits these regions together and shows that when you warm the planet rapidly, whole ocean basins can lose oxygen very abruptly and very extensively," said Sarah Moffitt, the lead author of the new study, in a news release.
The researchers first made these findings are taking seafloor sediment cores. By examining these cores, the scientists found that there was evidence of extreme oxygen loss from the subarctic Pacific to the Chilean margins that stretched from the upper ocean to about 3,000 meters deep. In some regions, this oxygen loss took place over a time period of 100 years or less.
Needless to say, oxygen loss can greatly impact the oceanic ecosystem. Marine organisms that range from salmon to crabs to oysters depend on oxygen to exist. Adapting to a low-oxygen environment would require a major reorganization of living things and their habitats.
"Our modern ocean is moving into a state that has no precedent in human history," said Moffitt. "The potential for our oceans to look very, very different in 100 to 150 years is real. How do you use the best available science to care for these critical resources in the future? Resource managers and conservationists can use science like this to guide a thoughtful, precautionary approach to environmental management."
The new research reveals that the deglaciation period that happened thousands of years ago also coincided with a loss of oxygen in the world's oceans. As temperatures rise in modern day, it's possible that this same oxygen loss could occur again and impact the oceanic ecosystem of today.
The findings are published in the journal PLOS One.
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
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First Posted: Jan 29, 2015 08:12 AM EST
It turns out that about 10,000 to 17,000 years ago, there was a massive loss of oxygen in the ocean when ice sheets abruptly melted. The new findings could explain similar changes that are occurring in the ocean today.
"This is a global story that knits these regions together and shows that when you warm the planet rapidly, whole ocean basins can lose oxygen very abruptly and very extensively," said Sarah Moffitt, the lead author of the new study, in a news release.
The researchers first made these findings are taking seafloor sediment cores. By examining these cores, the scientists found that there was evidence of extreme oxygen loss from the subarctic Pacific to the Chilean margins that stretched from the upper ocean to about 3,000 meters deep. In some regions, this oxygen loss took place over a time period of 100 years or less.
Needless to say, oxygen loss can greatly impact the oceanic ecosystem. Marine organisms that range from salmon to crabs to oysters depend on oxygen to exist. Adapting to a low-oxygen environment would require a major reorganization of living things and their habitats.
"Our modern ocean is moving into a state that has no precedent in human history," said Moffitt. "The potential for our oceans to look very, very different in 100 to 150 years is real. How do you use the best available science to care for these critical resources in the future? Resource managers and conservationists can use science like this to guide a thoughtful, precautionary approach to environmental management."
The new research reveals that the deglaciation period that happened thousands of years ago also coincided with a loss of oxygen in the world's oceans. As temperatures rise in modern day, it's possible that this same oxygen loss could occur again and impact the oceanic ecosystem of today.
The findings are published in the journal PLOS One.
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone