Could unbridled climate changes lead to human extinction?

SYDNEY - Scientists have sounded alarm bells about how growing concentrations of greenhouse gases are driving irreversible and dramatic changes in the way the oceans function, providing evidence that humankind could well be on the way to the next great extinction.

The findings of the comprehensive report: “The impact of climate change on the world’s marine ecosystems” emerged from a synthesis of recent research on the world’s oceans, carried out by two of the world’s leading marine scientists.

One of the authors of the report is Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, professor at The University of Queensland and the director of its Global Change Institute (GCI).

“We may see sudden, unexpected changes that have serious ramifications for the overall well-being of humans, including the capacity of the planet to support people. This is further evidence that we are well on the way to the next great extinction event,” says Hoegh-Guldberg.

“The findings have enormous implications for mankind, particularly if the trend continues. The earth’s ocean, which produces half of the oxygen we breathe and absorbs 30 percent of human-generated carbon dioxide, is equivalent to its heart and lungs. This study shows worrying signs of ill-health. It’s as if the earth has been smoking two packs of cigarettes a day!,” he added.

“We are entering a period in which the ocean services upon which humanity depends are undergoing massive change and in some cases beginning to fail”, he added.

The “fundamental and comprehensive” changes to marine life identified in the report include rapidly warming and acidifying oceans, changes in water circulation and expansion of dead zones within the ocean depths.

These are driving major changes in marine ecosystems: less abundant coral reefs, sea grasses and mangroves (important fish nurseries); fewer, smaller fish; a breakdown in food chains; changes in the distribution of marine life; and more frequent diseases and pests among marine organisms.

Study co-author John F. Bruno, associate professor in marine science at The University of North Carolina, says greenhouse gas emissions are modifying many physical and geochemical aspects of the planet’s oceans, in ways “unprecedented in nearly a million years”.

“This is causing fundamental and comprehensive changes to the way marine ecosystems function,” Bruno warned, according to a GCI release.

These findings were published in Science.