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Specifically, projected climate changes will affect the following aspects of ocean environments:
#Decrease1. Decrease/ change in paths of ocean currents -ocean currents depend on specific thermo-haline circulation patterns. Changes in temperature threaten these patterns, both directly and by decreasing salinity due to polar ice cap melting. (Harley, 2006). Most marine fishery ecosystems depend on the conditions these currents provide.
Current ocean circulation patterns. "Line W" refers to a "critical junction" between ocean waters that is being monitored for climate change by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Mike Carlowicz, 2007).
#Sea 2. Sea level rises - thermal expansion of water (90% of effects) and melting of glacial ice will destroy very depth- dependent ecosystems, such as coral reefs.
#Water 3. Water composition - Warming seawater can hold less dissolved CO2 and O¬¬¬2, and will have less salinity due to melting ice caps. Increased CO2 levels threaten species by decreasing pH, while increased O¬2 and decreased salt directly threaten species dependent on specific compositions (Harley, 2006).
Projected changes in ocean acidification by the year 2099 ("Antarctica does Acid - global warming, ocean acidification, and the Southern Ocean," 2006).
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"Fish account for approximately 20% of all animal protein in the human diet, with almost 1 billion people relying solely on fish as their primary source of protein. Furthermore, seventy-five percent of fish eaten by humans are marine-caught, as opposed to their freshwater and farm-raised counterparts. Given these conditions, and declining stocks of marine fish, one study suggests that the projected decrease in fish supply over the next two decades will not meet the demands of a growing global population" (Duke). People living in places like Greenland and Faeroe Island consume 85 kilograms of fish per capita per year--second only to the Maldives, where each person consumes 190 kilograms of fish and shellfish per year, placing an extraordinary amount of faith in and responsibility on our oceans (NMFS, 2006).
Works Cited
Antarctica does Acid - global warming, ocean acidification, and the Southern Ocean. (2006). Tasmedia.org. Retrieved November 19, 2007, from http://www.tasmedia.org/node/1214
Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. (2001). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Retrieved November 19, 2007, from http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/348.htm Follows, M. J., Dutkiewicz, S., Grant, S., & Chisholm, S. W. (2007). Emergent Biogeography of Microbial Communities in a Model Ocean. Science,315(5820), 1843-1846. Retrieved November 19, 2007, from http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/315/5820/1843 Harley, C. D. G., et all (2006). The Impacts of Climate Change in Coastal Marine Systems. Ecology Letters, 9, 228-241.
Joyce, T., Bice, K., Curry, R., Doney, S., & Winsor, P. (2007). Global Warming Q&A : Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Retrieved November 19, 2007, from http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=12457&tid=282&cid=13366 Mathews-Amos, A., & Berntson, E. A. (1999). Turning Up the Heat: How Global Warming Threatens Life in the Sea. Mike Carlowicz. (2007). Will the Ocean Circulation Be Unbroken? Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Retrieved November 19, 2007, from http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/viewImage.do?id=56736&aid=33286\\
Duke University. Mining vs. Farming: The International State of the Fisheries. Retrieved 17 November 2007, from the World Wide Web: http://www.biology.duke.edu/bio217/2002/fish/state.html.
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