Ocean News

In Peru’s Deserts, Melting Glaciers Are a Godsend (Until They’re Gone) | New York Times

Cities in peril as Andean glaciers melt https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2006/aug/29/glaciers.climatechange

 

The Sectoral and Regional Economic Consequences of Climate Change to 2060

Abstract
This paper presents a new detailed global quantitative assessment of the economic consequences of climate change (i.e. climate damages) to 2060.[...]

The model results show that damages are projected to rise twice as fast as global economic activity; global annual Gross Domestic Product losses are projected to be 1.0–3.3% by 2060.

Of the impacts that are modelled, impacts on labour productivity and agriculture are projected to have the largest negative economic consequences.

Damages from sea level rise grow most rapidly after the middle of the century.

Damages to energy and tourism are very small from a global perspective, as benefits in some regions balance damages in others.

Climate-induced damages from hurricanes may have significant effects on local communities, but the macroeconomic consequences are projected to be very small.

Net economic consequences are projected to be especially large in Africa and Asia, where the regional economies are vulnerable to a range of different climate impacts.

For some countries in higher latitudes, economic benefits can arise from gains in tourism, energy and health.

The global assessment also shows that countries that are relatively less affected by climate change may reap trade gains.

 

Global warming: Study predicts a significantly drier world at 2 C | PHYS.org

According to a study to be published tomorrow in Nature Climate Change, over a quarter of the world's land could become significantly drier if global warming reaches 2C. Aridification is a serious threat because it can critically impact areas such as agriculture, water quality, and biodiversity. It can also lead to more droughts and wildfires—similar to those seen raging across California.

But limiting global warming to under 1.5C would dramatically reduce the fraction of the Earth's surface that undergoes such changes.

 

You picked a fine time to dismantle the EPA, Lucille.

Apparently, as long as the shelves are full and we have a large choice of **** that we don't need, all is well.

The Ocean Is Losing Its Breath. Here's the Global Scope. | Smithsonian Environmental Research Center https://serc.si.edu/media/press-release/ocean-losing-its-breath-heres-global-scope

 

And of course, Higher Temperatures lower dissolved Oxygen levels in water.

 

Great Barrier Reef: rising temperatures turning green sea turtles female | The Guardian

Rising temperatures are turning almost all green sea turtles in a Great Barrier Reef population female. Sea turtles are among species with temperature dependent sex-determination and the proportion of female hatchlings increases when nests are in warmer sands.

“Combining our results with temperature data show that the northern GBR green turtle rookeries have been producing primarily females for more than two decades and that the complete feminisation of this population is possible in the near future. Furthermore, extreme incubation temperatures not only produce female-only hatchlings but also cause high mortality of developing clutches. With warming global temperatures and most sea turtle populations naturally producing offspring above the pivotal temperature, it is clear that climate change poses a serious threat to the persistence of these populations.”

The paper, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, California State University and Worldwide Fund for Nature Australia, is published in Current Biology.

 

The ocean floor is slowly sinking under the weight of melting glaciers | International Business Times

Melting glaciers are causing sea levels to rise, but scientists have identified a factor that is usually not taken into consideration when calculating it. The enormous mass that gets added to the ocean is causing the sea floor to warp, sink, and deform. This can disguise the actual rise of sea levels in many parts of the planet and actually cover up the actual extent to which the seas are rising.

The study is published in Geophysical Research Letters.

 

New York City sues Shell, ExxonMobil and other oil companies over climate change | Washington Post

The New York City government is suing the world’s five largest publicly traded oil companies, seeking to hold them responsible for present and future damage to the city from climate change. It charges that the companies and the industry they are part of have known for some time about the consequences but sought to obscure them.

Several prior cases challenging individual companies based on a public-nuisance theory have failed — including at the Supreme Court, which ruled in 2011 that climate action by the Environmental Protection Agency in effect removed the ability to use the courts as a remedy. But the difference now is that the claims are being brought under state, rather than federal, common law — and that strategy remains to be tested.

 

Global warming set to exceed Paris agreement’s 1.5C limit by 2040s, according to draft UN report | The Independent

There is a “very high risk” that the most ambitious global warming limit set in the Paris climate agreement is likely to be exceeded by the 2040s, according to a draft United Nations (UN) report. Not exceeding this target would “involve removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” said the report compiled by scientists on the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

 

Australia’s Hot Ocean Blob Fuels Record Heat, Extreme Weather, Risk to Coral Reefs | Robert Scribbler

Since late November there has been a "hot, angry blob" of much warmer than normal ocean water between Australia and New Zealand.This can be seen in the sea surface temperature anomaly maps provided by Earth Nullschool. Today’s readings show temperatures in this new blob hitting between 3.5 and 4.2 degrees Celsius above average across a broad expanse of ocean.That’s much, much warmer than normal for this region of water -- a place where 2 degree above average sea surface readings would tend to be unusual.

 

Climate change drives collapse in marine food webs | Science Daily

A study published in PLOS Biology has found that levels of commercial fish stocks could be harmed as rising sea temperatures affect their source of food. The study shows that increased temperatures reduce the vital flow of energy from the primary food producers at the bottom (e.g. algae), to intermediate consumers (herbivores), to predators at the top of marine food webs.

"Whilst climate change increased the productivity of plants, this was mainly due to an expansion of cyanobacteria (small blue-green algae)," said Mr Ullah. "This increased primary productivity does not support food webs, however, because these cyanobacteria are largely unpalatable and they are not consumed by herbivores."

A cyanobacteria conversation...​

 

It’s highly probable climate change is amplifying water scarcity in southern Europe | Daily Planet

Runoff of rivers and streams in in the Mediterranean region shows drying trends over the last half century. For northern Europe, on the other hand, weak wetting trends have been observed. These changes may be due to several contributing factors: human management including land cover change, large-scale irrigation or the construction of reservoirs and dams, and changes in the hydrological cycle. A study, published in Nature Climate Change, has shown that the latter, observed changes in precipitation and evapotranspiration, largely explain the observed continental changes in runoff. What’s more, these changes can be related to anthropogenic climate change.

 

These stunning timelapse photos may just convince you about climate change | Washington Post

350 Days in the life of a retreating glacier
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Solheimajokull glacier retreats, 2007-2010​

 

Well that's all fine and dandy except...

I guess the most practical thing would be to just dump it in the ocean here and save all the bother of finding someone else to dump in the ocean for us.

 

2017 Was One of the Hottest Years on Record. And That Was Without El Niño. | New York Times