Climate Change: Oceans May be at Severe Risk with Rising Carbon Dioxide

The oceans may be at their limit. Scientists have found that our oceans need an immediate and substantial reduction of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, or else we're liable to see far-reaching and potentially irreversible impacts on marine ecosystems.

Since the pre-industrial era, the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has risen from 278 to 400 ppm, which is a 40 percent increase that has produced massive changes in the oceans. Unfortunately, the oceans have also paid a high price; water temperatures have risen, causing species to migrate up to 400 kilometers closer to Earth's poles within the last decade.

In this latest study, the scientists employed two emissions scenarios to see what the oceans might see in the future.

If business continues as usual as far as carbon dioxide emissions go then by the end of this century, the changes will hit nearly every ecosystem in the oceans and cause irreparable harm. This, in turn, will have massive impacts on all areas in which human beings use the oceans-whether that happens to be capture fisheries, tourism or in coastal protection. With that said, there are steps that can be taken.

"If we can successfully limit the rise in the air temperature to two degrees Celsius through the year 2100, the risks, especially for warm-water corals and bivalves in lower to middle latitudes, will become critical," said Jean-Pierre Gattuso, lead author of the new study, in a news release. "However, the remaining risks will remain fairly moderate."

The findings reveal that if action isn't taken, our world's oceans may be in trouble. That makes  it more important than ever to institute policies to limit emissions.

The findings are published in the journal Science.

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