As Brian traverses the Southern Ocean, we take a look at the effects that climate change is having on our oceans.

Climate change is now a highly recognized phenomenon in our modern day environment.  Stories of rising temperatures, melting ice caps and increased storm events fill the media on a regular basis.

So what exactly is the problem?  Earthwatch’s Head of Climate Change Research, Dr. Dan Bebber says, “Greenhouse gas emissions continue to accelerate, outpacing even pessimistic predictions. Without drastic international action, by the end of the century the Earth is likely to reach temperatures not experienced for millions of years. Such rapid climate change would be disastrous for both ecosystems and humanity. Fortunately, behavioural change is possible when we are empowered with scientific knowledge of the environment, and with appreciation of our place in nature.”

In addition to the well-known impacts such as sea level rise and coral bleaching, research has uncovered other unprecedented effects, such as ocean acidification.

Ocean acidification is occurring because the oceans absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, and with rising atmospheric levels, oceanic absorption increases, lowering pH and altering the delicate balance.  Predicting the implication of these changes is challenging, but there is strong evidence to suggest that the calcium carbonate building blocks used by corals to form their skeletons will become less available, erosion resistance of reefs will be lowered and the ability of coral larvae and coralline algae to successfully settle and grow will be reduced.  At the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium last year, the challenge was revealed - to save coral reefs, we cannot exceed 450 parts per million of atmospheric CO2.  In real terms, this means we must reduce global emissions of CO2 now to avoid causing irreversible damage to the oceans.

Rising sea levels are a very real hazard to our everyday lives and seriously threaten habitats such as mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs.  These habitats protect the land from the forces of the sea and if lost human populations will suffer, as illustrated by the catastrophic 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.  Conservation activities such as mangrove restoration and coral reef protection give hope.

Many marine species migrate because they are searching for food, this takes them from their breeding grounds to areas rich in prey.  Whales, such as the humpback and southern right whale, migrate south to take advantage of the huge numbers of krill that are found in the Southern Ocean.

Krill distribution on a NASA SeaWIFS image (Wikipedia)

Antarctic krill feeding off ice algae (Wikipedia)

Migrations have been occurring for millennia and animals return to the same areas year after year.  However, as sea temperatures rise with climate change, swarms of krill, fish and other plankton re-locate to remain within their optimum temperature for survival.  Their predators must follow and find new areas to feed.  In order to help these predators, we must research their behaviour and determine where they will go to find food. This will enable us to take action to ensure that their prey species can survive.  Such work is being undertaken by Dr. William Megill, on Earthwatch project Whales of British Columbia.

Thankfully these problems are now being tackled at government levels as well as by NGOs.  On 3rd December 2008, a long-awaited announcement in the Queen’s Speech stated that the government will be introducing a full UK Marine and Coastal Access Bill next year.  This is a vital promise, and it has taken ten years of campaigning to get this far.  The Queen also gave her consent for a world first in climate change legislation, setting binding targets which, led to the UK government making a legal commitment to reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.

Many Earthwatch projects are tackling climate change, through studying mitigation of impacts and adaptation strategies.  Earthwatch always need volunteers on our projects to help scientists gather data. Anyone can volunteer and no knowledge or experience is necessary. If you don’t have time to spare, please consider donating to our oceans appeal that will ensure scientific research informs conservation activities. Without research, decisions will be made blind and mistakes will be made. Sadly, we do not have the time to make mistakes.