Climate Change and Marine Ecosystem

Running Head: CLIMATE CHANGE AND MARINE ECOSYSTEM
Climate Change and Marine Ecosystem
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Abstract
Climate change has been described as one of the serious emerging global environmental issues
that is caused and exacerbated by anthropogenic activities. Human induced global warming is
caused by the emission of greenhouse gases majorly carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Anthropogenic activities like burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and habitat destruction of
habitat have led to emission of excess carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which has accelerated
global warming. Global warming has further led to climate change has some of the worst
deleterious impacts not only on the natural environment but also on the built environment. The
negative impacts of climate change have affected quality of air and water especially the marine
ecosystem. This paper has critically analyzed the relationship between climate change and
marine ecosystem; the oceans. Oceans play an important role in sequestering excess atmospheric
carbon dioxide and buffering of heat. The paper has discussed the impact of climate change on
the marine environment. The paper discussed how climate change has affected the quality of
marine ecosystem and how it affects the organisms living in the ocean rather than focusing on
the rise of the sea level. The paper discussed in depth the acidification and the alteration of food
chain in the oceans as well as the mitigation and adaptation measures that should be taken to deal
with climate change.

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Table of content
Contents
Abstract.......................................................................................................................................................2
Table of content...........................................................................................................................................3
Climate Change and Marine Ecosystem......................................................................................................4
Introduction.............................................................................................................................................4
The Ocean, Climate Change and The People...............................................................................................5
The Climate and The Ocean........................................................................................................................7
Ocean Acidification and The Climate Change.............................................................................................8
Warming of the Ocean.............................................................................................................................8
Ocean Acidification and Climate Change................................................................................................9
Physical Environmental Impacts of Ocean Acidification...................................................................10
Biological Implication of Acidification.............................................................................................11
Calcification of the Oceanic Organisms....................................................................................................12
Climate Change and The Marine Food Chain............................................................................................13
Adaptation and Mitigation of Climate Change as well as the Management of the Ocean..........................16
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................18
References.................................................................................................................................................19

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Climate Change and Marine Ecosystem
According to Laffoley, Climate change can be discussed in all the media platforms and in all the
communication channels, yet, it possesses an evil twin, which is majorly caused and influenced
by the carbon dioxide gas, having rapid, unstoppable and seemingly immense measurable
impacts. By coming up with solutions regarding the impacts of climate change on the marine
ecosystems like the ocean acidification, scientists and researchers are trying to break through
the confusion as well as the ignorance which is exhibited by humans so that everybody become
acquainted with the happenings and why climate change has become a global environmental
issue as well as priority.
Introduction
The major cause of anthropogenic climate change is the carbon dioxide emission into the
atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases and is majorly released into the
atmosphere naturally and anthropogenically (Healey, 2014). The anthropogenic emission of
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere takes place through production of cement, burning of fossil
fuels into the environment and land use changes like clearing of forests which as act as carbon
sequester (Zito, 2008). As the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases, the
partial pressure of the atmosphere of carbon dioxide also rises. It is key to note that the highest
recorded partial pressure for carbon dioxide was at the Mauna Loa state in in 1958. At the
primary basic level, the earth’s climate is determined and influenced by the balance between the
outgoing infrared rays and the incoming sunlight. The greenhouses like carbon dioxide play a
key part in absorbing the infrared rations of the sun, therefore, trapping the sun heat from
reaching the earth surface just like a blanket (Lionello and Scarascia, 2018). Other greenhouse

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gases which are found in trace amounts like chlorofluorocarbons, nitrous oxides and methane are
also considered to be vital to the earth’s warming.
Over the last years, the volume of atmospheric carbon dioxide has risen by more than
31% from around 282 to 384 parts per million by the year 2007 (Saleh & Haddoud, 2013).
Scientists have attributed this rise in the atmospheric carbon dioxide to the increase in the
combustion of fossil fuels, deforestation and production of cement (Brambilla, M 2018).
Numerous climatic as well as economic models postulate the amount of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere as great and high as 650-1000 parts per million, approximately more than twice of
the preindustrial level, at the end of the 21st century. With increase in the amount of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere, global warming is expected to increase leading to climate change, one
of the serious environmental issues that the world is currently grappling with. Climate change
has very serious impacts not only on the natural environment but also on the built environment
(Benjamin, Por & Budescu, 2017).
These impacts are also felt in the aquatic ecosystem. This paper will critically analyze the
impacts of climate change in the aquatic life especially in the oceanic environment and evaluate
how its impacts on the quality of the oceans. The paper will then come up with recommendations
of sustainably mitigating impacts of climate change.
The Ocean, Climate Change and The People
Climate change should literally be referred to as ocean warming since more than 81% of
the extra heat from the sun resides mostly in the oceans. Through scientific and geographical
observations, succinct alterations and changes to the ocean bodies have been detected. The world
ocean supports and maintain numerous marine wildlife forms and the habitats. The oceans also

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offer human beings with the host of services ang goods such as transportation, recreation and
food (Cooley and Doney, 2009). It should be noted that the oceans are one of the life support
systems of the people and other ecosystems. The average area of the planet’s surface that is
covered by the ocean is approximately 70% and it is hugely deep that is has about 91% of the
inhabitable and usable space for biological life on the earth surface. About 91% of the earth’s
biomass reside in the ocean. However, life diversity, productivity as well as the huge size have
offered human beings with false fallacious comfort. For over the years, people have extracted
and used ocean resources as well used ocean as a means of communication. Due to the
advancement of technology and industrial revolution in many countries, human beings have
continued to extract ocean resources as well as modify and alter the oceanic environments
mainly through invasive alien species, pollution and the destruction of the habitat. Due to these
anthropogenic activities, most of the fishery activities have reduced or collapsed, aquatic
ecosystem has greatly suffered and most of the indigenous species now face extinction (Perry et
al, 2010).
Currently, the oceanic environment is facing a new threat; the climate change that has
compounded the existing pressures from the anthropogenic activities on the ocean.
It should be noted that the rate as well as the scale of changes in the environment, exacerbated by
the rise in the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, is unprecedented in the history of human
beings. Such negative changes have the potential to alter the ability of the oceans to continue
supporting cultures, human populations as well as the various ecosystems.