INTRODUCTION: OCEANS AND CLIMATE

Global climate and the world ocean are inexorably linked. This is not merely because the ocean’s ecosystems, like all others on earth, are affected by climate changes, but also because it is the oceans that drive planetary climate and weather.  Changing climate changes the marine environment, but so too does a changing marine environment contribute to global climate change.

The global ocean hums with life that exists in an interconnected web, from the tiniest shrimp to the great blue whales. Humans, though creatures of land, are immersed in this web too -- sustained by the ocean’s bounty and inspired by its beauty. The ocean also provides us with a wide variety of goods and services including food, recreation, and transportation.

Our use of marine goods and services has been profligate—and we have only recently begun to recognize and try to address the impact of our collective actions on marine species and habitats. We are also only just beginning to learn the details of how global climate change will affect the ocean. But we know enough to recognize our growing influence on its future.

Despite ongoing political debates, the unavoidable reality of global climate change has been documented by leading scientists and affirmed by international consensus. We can expect the unexpected—real climate change will include changes in weather patterns, changes in ambient temperatures, changes in precipitation and rises in sea levels. Sea level rise will gradually inundate existing coastal lands and coastal wetlands may extend further inland.

A few degrees of warmth may not sound like much of a threat, or even necessarily a bad thing. But the overall effects on weather patterns, disease, food production and coastal cities could reach deeply into the economy and our daily lives, from Bangladesh to New York City. With the oceans, we already need to be planning for and investing in solutions to mitigate the impact of climate change—because the impact is being felt now, and more is coming. Over half of the world’s population lives along the coast, increasing the threat of economic and social disruption from rising sea levels, storm systems that are more frequent and more intense, and the loss of productive coastal ecosystems.

¹This Ocean Observer is based on a paper commissioned by The Consultative Group on Biodiversity, written by Mark Spalding, and edited by Tundi Agardy of the World Ocean Observatory.