A Sea Change That Threatens Fish

Image Credit: Marc Pinter, Flickr

NOAA (the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) found that the oceans will be affected by climate change in several ways. For one thing, melting reshwater ice will change salinity of ocean water, and thus in turn change density currents, which will change circulation patterns and impact sea life on a large scale. Also, sea levels are rising and will continue to rise. Third, NOAA has reported for a long time that oceans naturally absorb CO2 from the air, and form carbonic acid, H2CO3,

One expert, Sven Huseby, contends that the ocean will become too acidic to support fish, which will completely destroy the fishing industry and food supplies, not to mention the balance of oxygen-producing plants we depend on. He says the oceans have become 30% more acidic in the past 100 years, This will have a widespread impact on the global economy as these changes move forward. Even if ocean acidification proves to be localized change and not a global disaster, the phenomenon points to how complex the ocean is and how climate change is a dynamic system that will be impacted in lots of ways and produce some unintended consequences.

See more in the following video produced by Huseby.

Video Credit: niijiifilms, Youtube

The week’s gallery springs from a coastal Maine hangover that has lasted for a week, and hopefully will continue a bit longer. These photos chronicle an instant of captive wonder where light meets water and sky. The Maine Coast is a place to see rocks, cliffs, sandy beaches, sunrises, sunsets and of course, boats. Small towns, New England flavor, outstanding seafood and a wonderful seafaring history.

All photos taken by Glenn Fay.