OCEAN 2 LAST (MES2)

The report, launched at the just concluded IUCN World The report, launched at the just concluded IUCN WorldConservation Congress held in Hawaii, said more than 93 percent of the enhanced heating since the 1970s resulting fromhuman activities has been absorbed by the ocean, and data showa sustained and accelerating upward trend in ocean warming. "The scale of ocean warming depicted in the report istruly staggering: if the same amount of heat that has gone intothe top 2 km of the ocean between 1955 and 2010 had insteadgone into the lower 10 km of the atmosphere, the Earth wouldhave seen a warming of 36°C," says the report compiled for IUCNby 80 scientists in 12 countries. Major changes caused by ocean warming and other stressorsdescribed in the report include impacts on entire ecosystemsfrom polar to tropical regions, predicted to increase furtherin scale, stretching from accessible coasts to the deep oceanseabed. The entire groups of species such as plankton, jellyfish,fish, turtles and seabirds could be driven by up to 10 degreesof latitude towards the Earth’s poles to keep within reasonableenvironmental conditions. It also spoke about loss of breeding grounds for groupssuch as turtles and seabirds, and impacts on the breedingsuccess of birds and sea mammals; and seasonality shifts byplankton, leading to potential mismatch between planktonspecies with fish and other marine wildlife. As the ocean warms the atmosphere above, and beyond, isbeing affected by it. "Developing changes in air-sea interactions are being seenaround the planet, in many cases leading to enhancement or shifting of extreme weather. This can be mid-latitude storminess, linked to changes inArctic sea-ice, more severe hurricanes or changes to thecharacter of El Niño events or monsoons, all linked to tropicalocean changes," it said. These changes to the ocean, and then atmosphere, are setto continue as anthropogenic warming continues this century. "More  and  more  change  to  the ocean will occur, interms of sea ice cover, stratification, the global meridionaloverturning circulation or the increased melt water runoff andcalving of icebergs into the ocean," the report said. The report also describes the inadequacy of currentknowledge, capabilities and capacity to adequately study oceanwarming, and to advise and cope with the associated challenges.PTI TGB VSDIPDK