The Great Barrier Reef at Whitsunday Island, Australia. Daniel Osterkamp / Getty Images
The world's oceans and coastal ecosystems can store remarkable amounts of carbon dioxide. But if they're damaged, they can also release massive amounts of emissions back into the atmosphere.
<p>Highlighting their need for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation">conservation</a>, the UNESCO published a <a href="https://ioc.unesco.org/news/unesco-marine-world-heritage-custodians-globes-blue-carbon-assets" target="_blank">report</a> assessing these ecosystems' critical role in mitigating <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a>.</p><p>The report was the first of its kind to quantify blue carbon -- carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere from ocean ecosystems -- across the 50 UNESCO Marine World Heritage sites. The report found six marine World Heritage Sites in Australia hold 40 percent of the estimated five billion tons of carbon dioxide stored in mangrove, seagrass and tidal marsh ecosystems within these sites, Edith Cowan University wrote in a <a href="https://www.ecu.edu.au/features/postgraduate/unesco-reveals-largest-carbon-stores-found-in-australian-world-heritage-sites" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
<p>"We know Australia contains some of the world's largest stores of blue carbon due to the enormous size and diversity of our marine ecosystems," the report author and ECU research fellow Dr. Oscar Serrano said, according to ECU. Included in these six marine World Heritage sites are Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo Coast and Shark Bay World Heritage areas, which together contain a majority of Australia's blue carbon habitats. "However, here in Australia and around the world, these ecosystems are under threat from human development and climate change," Serrano added.</p><p>These threats include pollution, like plastic litter, and climate change, <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2258" target="_blank">UNESCO reported</a>. This is an increasing problem not just in Australia, but among marine World Heritage sites globally, including ecosystems like the Sundarbans mangroves in India and Bangladesh, Everglades National Park in the U.S., the Wadden Sea in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, <a href="https://en.unesco.org/news/new-research-demonstrates-crucial-role-world-heritage-marine-sites-fighting-climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">UNESCO noted</a>.</p>
<p>Although blue carbon ecosystems represent less than one percent of the global ocean area, they store about half of the carbon dioxide via the world's oceans, absorbing carbon 30 times faster than rainforests, ECU wrote in a statement. But if these blue carbon ecosystems are not conserved, they could increase global carbon emissions.</p><p>"While they're healthy, blue carbon ecosystems are excellent stores of carbon dioxide, but if they are damaged, they can release huge amounts of carbon dioxide stored over millennia back into the atmosphere," Serrano added, according to ECU.</p><p>In 2011, for example, nine million tons of stored carbon dioxide were released following a marine heatwave that killed about one-third of the area's seagrass in the Shark Bay, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/03/blue-carbon-how-three-australian-marine-sites-lock-away-2bn-tonnes-of-co2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian reported</a>.</p>
<p>To avoid similar events, the report's authors call for conservation efforts like blue carbon strategies, where countries could earn carbon credits for restoring damaged ecosystems that store carbon, <a href="https://en.unesco.org/news/new-research-demonstrates-crucial-role-world-heritage-marine-sites-fighting-climate-change" target="_blank">UNESCO reported</a>.</p><p>"By quantifying the carbon value of these sites and recommending specific blue carbon strategies to conserve them, UNESCO's research findings point the way for countries, regions, and local communities seeking to conserve these areas and pursue blue carbon strategies," UNESCO wrote in a <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2258" target="_blank">press release</a>. This could mean including assets, like investing in the restoration and conservation of blue carbon ecosystems, into Nationally Determined Contributions, each country's pledged actions in the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a>.</p><p>Currently, the Australian government is leading by example, developing a system to create carbon credits for restoration projects on increasing blue carbon stocks in marine ecosystems, The Guardian reported.</p><p>"There are significant opportunities for both the Great Barrier Reef and Shark Bay to be protected and restored to ensure they survive and thrive in the future," Serrano added, according to ECU. </p>
Read More
Show Less
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
Melting ice in places such as Greenland could stop a critical ocean current. Paul Souders / Getty Images
The climate crisis could push an important ocean current past a critical tipping point sooner than expected, new research suggests.
<p>The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) helps move heat from the tropics to the Northern Hemisphere, and is one of the reasons why Europe has relatively mild winters, <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/a-major-ocean-current-might-be-on-the-verge-of-a-climate-change-tipping-point" target="_blank">Science Alert explained</a>. However, the current has begun slowing down in recent years, and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scientists" target="_self">scientists</a> want to know what it would take for the current to stop. A study published in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/9/e2017989118" target="_blank">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Monday</a> calculates that this moment could come sooner than expected.</p><p>"It is worrying news. Because if this is true, it reduces our safe operating space," Johannes Lohmann of the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen and study co-author said in a <a href="https://www.tipes.dk/steady-now-unfortunate-timing-and-rate-of-change-may-be-enough-to-tip-a-climate-system/" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p><p>Essentially, the new findings come down to timing. The AMOC is threatened by increasing freshwater into the North Atlantic as the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/greenland" target="_self">Greenland</a> ice sheet melts. A certain amount of freshwater will cause the current to stop. But Lohmann wanted to test what would happen if that water were added quickly instead of gradually.</p><p>"These tipping points have been shown previously in climate models, where meltwater is very slowly introduced into the ocean," Lohmann told <a href="https://earther.gizmodo.com/a-major-ocean-current-may-be-hurtling-towards-collapse-1846337333" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gizmodo</a>. "In reality, increases in meltwater from Greenland are accelerating and cannot be considered slow."</p>
<p>So researchers used an ocean model called Veros to calculate when the current would stop if freshwater were gradually added, the press release explained. Researchers then added freshwater at increased rates and found that quickly added freshwater would stop currents before reaching the initial freshwater threshold.</p><p>This has serious implications for the AMOC current itself. If it were to completely halt, tropical monsoon patterns would shift, rainfall in the Northern Hemisphere would decrease and the North Atlantic would get stormier. It also raises concerns about other climate tipping points, such as polar ice sheets collapsing or the Amazon rainforest drying out. If the AMOC can stop before the previously calculated tipping point is reached, is the same true for other systems?</p><p>"The results show that the safe operating space of elements of the Earth system with respect to future emissions might be smaller than previously thought," the study authors wrote.</p>
<p>However, outside scientists urged caution. Dave Sutherland, an associate professor in Earth sciences at the University of Oregon, told Gizmodo that the findings were important and timely, but that the models did not take all details into account, such as the location of the meltwater entering the ocean from Greenland.</p><p>Lohmann agreed that more testing is needed, but also pressed the urgency of climate action.</p><p>"Due to the potentially increased risk of abrupt climate change in parts of the Earth system that we show in our research, it is important that policymakers keep pushing for ambitious short- and mid-term climate targets to slow down the pace of climate change, especially in vulnerable places like the Arctic," Lohmann told Gizmodo.</p>
<p><br/></p>
Read More
Show Less
Like many other plant-based foods and products, CBD oil is one dietary supplement where "organic" labels are very important to consumers. However, there are little to no regulations within the hemp industry when it comes to deeming a product as organic, which makes it increasingly difficult for shoppers to find the best CBD oil products available on the market.
<p>Here you can learn about the importance of organic hemp oil, why it's better for the environment, and which CBD companies actually make trustworthy products with sustainable farming processes. origins which weigh heavily on many consumers who want to buy a product that's produced in the best way possible for not only themselves to ingest, but for the environment as well through sustainable farming methods. </p><h2>What Is CBD Oil?</h2><p>First things first, CBD stands for cannabidiol, and it's a cannabinoid found within cannabis sativa plants. This plant compound is believed to have many potential benefits, and it is primarily derived from hemp plants via a CO2 extraction process. </p><p>Since CBD is extracted from industrial hemp, which contains only trace amounts of THC (the psychoactive component in cannabis plants), this means that CBD won't make you feel high like marijuana, which has much higher levels of THC that causes psychoactive effects. Instead, the effects of CBD are much more subtle and promote a general sense of calm and relaxation in most users.</p><h2>What Makes a CBD Oil Organic?</h2><p>In terms of organic labels, perhaps the most important (and prominent) certification comes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This government organization has been labeling foods as "organic" for many years, but what exactly does this certification entail? Essentially, a label indicating that a product is "USDA Organic" or "Certified Organic" means that at least 95% of the ingredients are obtained from organic sources.</p><p>For a crop to be considered organic by the USDA, it must be grown without the use of industrial solvents, irradiation, genetic engineering (GMOs), synthetic pesticides, or chemical fertilizer. Instead, farmers rely on natural substances and <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mechanical, physical, or biologically based farming</a> techniques to cultivate healthy and organic crops.</p><p>Before the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, no hemp-derived products could be dubbed as "certified organic" since the hemp plant and its extracts were still categorized as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. However, it's still difficult for CBD companies to obtain a USDA certified organic label for their products due to the legal grey area that still surrounds CBD extracts. </p><p>Because of these challenges, and due to the fact that industrial hemp has only recently become an agricultural crop, very few CBD oils are USDA certified organic. Rather, many CBD products contain hemp extracts from plants that were grown in organic conditions but may not be federally certified.</p><h2>What are the Best Organic CBD Oil Brands?</h2><p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p><em><br></em>
<h2>Why Organic Hemp Oil Matters</h2><p>Hemp is a unique plant, not only for its rich cannabinoid content, but also for its ability to absorb a wide variety of components in soil. But this trait poses great risks when it comes to the creation of CBD products derived from hemp.</p><p>Because hemp has a high capacity for compound uptake, this means that the plants can retain <a href="https://www.remedyreview.com/industry/lab-test-results/" target="_blank">harmful chemicals like pesticides</a>, heavy metals, and other residual solvents. This is especially true when it comes to synthetic chemicals that are more toxic to humans, and difficult to remove once they have been absorbed by the hemp plant.</p><p>Organic farming practices help reduce the risk of hemp crops absorbing harsh chemicals that may later end up in CBD oil after extraction. When you're taking CBD as a wellness supplement to help alleviate your symptoms or improve your overall well-being, the last thing you want is to ingest compounds that might negatively outweigh the benefits of CBD. This is an important reason to look for third party lab test results when shopping for CBD products since these certificates of analysis can show the full cannabinoid and terpene profile of a hemp extract, as well as test results that search for the presence of any residual solvents.</p><p>In addition to creating a better end product, organic farming practices are also better for the environment. Sustainable and organic farming methods may <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy</a>. The use of natural pest deterrents as opposed to chemical pesticides is also better for nearby animal populations and ecosystems.</p><h3>Organic vs. Natural</h3><p>While there are only a select few companies offering certified organic ingredients in their products, almost every brand in the CBD market creates "natural" products. The term "all-natural" or "plant-based" does not mean that a product is organic, and since hemp oil is a natural derivative of hemp plants, these products are often referred to as all-natural. However, there are some synthetic CBD oils that should be avoided because they are chemically constructed and may produce unwanted side effects that are not caused by naturally derived CBD extracts.</p><h2>What are the Benefits of Organic CBD Oil?</h2><p>There's a long list of potential CBD oil health benefits, and some of the most common wellness advantages include:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503660/" target="_blank">Chronic pain relief</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604171/" target="_blank">Anti-anxiety effects</a></li><li>Better sleep</li><li><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inner-source/201901/cbd-oil-mental-health-should-you-take-it-too" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Improvements in mood</a></li><li>Internal balance and regulation</li></ul><p>When dealing with pain, inflammation, sleep issues, and mental health struggles, it can be hard to find sufficient treatment options. The use of certain prescriptions can cause unwanted side effects, yet they are often the only solution for patients with these medical conditions. In search of other therapies, people have started to flock towards CBD oil as an alternative remedy for a variety of conditions. However, it should be noted that CBD products are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and you should seek your doctor's advice before using CBD if you have a serious medical condition.</p><h2>Look at the Labels Before You Buy CBD Oil</h2><p>When you go online to buy CBD oil, you'll quickly realize there is an overwhelming number of brands that are saturating the market. It can be difficult to determine which products are truly as good as they make themselves out to be. Always look for up-to-date third-party lab tests so you know you are getting a great product, and don't hesitate to contact the brand if you have any additional questions. And if you're intent on purchasing 100% organic CBD oil, it's best to look for certified products or brands that are held to strict regulatory standards.</p><p><strong>Melena Gurganus </strong>is the Reviews Editor at EcoWatch. She is passionate health and wellness and her writing aims to help others find products they can trust. Her work has been featured in publications such as Health, Shape, Huffington Post, Cannabis Business Times, and Bustle.<br></p>
Spruce
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjI3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTM2NzgzOX0.axY0HjeqRctJsR_KmDLctzDpUBLBN-oNIdqaXDb4caQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="774be" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8379f35b1ca8a86d0e61b7d4bfc8b46e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="spruce organic cbd oil" data-width="710" data-height="959" /><p>As one of the best brands in the business, Spruce CBD is well-known for its potent CBD oils that feature many additional beneficial phytocannabinoids. This brand works with two family-owned, sustainably focused farms in the USA (one located in Kentucky and one in North Carolina) to create its organic, small product batches. The max potency Spruce CBD oil contains 2400mg of full-spectrum CBD extract, but the brand also offers a lower strength tincture with 750mg of CBD in total.</p>
$89
CBDistillery
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjkzNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTU4OTM4Nn0.ypRdeDSBcE87slYrFfVrRwtJ2qGIK6FD5jBB4pndTMo/img.jpg?width=980" id="b473b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9930b53c9d58cb49774640a61c3e3e75" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="cbdistillery cbd oil" data-width="1244" data-height="1244" /><p>All of the products from CBDistillery are <a href="https://ushempauthority.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Hemp Authority Certified</a>, and for good reason. The company only uses non-GMO and pesticide-free industrial hemp that's grown organically on Colorado farms. Its hemp oils are some of the most affordable CBD products on the market, yet they still maintain a high standard of quality. CBDistillery has a wide variety of CBD potencies across its product line (ranging from 500mg to 5000mg per bottle) and offers both full-spectrum and broad-spectrum CBD oils to give customers a completely thc-free option.</p>
$35
FAB CBD
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIyNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NDIwOTEyMn0.MlTjz096FJ0ev_-soK7_Z-FeQeJczWoeh9Qi9SSkHsY/img.jpg?width=980" id="04b26" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76aa4862f44603242e318982acea6646" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="fab cbd oil" data-width="800" data-height="800" /><p>For an organic CBD oil that has it all, FAB CBD offers plenty of variety for any type of consumer. All of its products are made with zero pesticides and extracted from organically grown Colorado industrial hemp. FAB CBD oil comes in five all-natural flavors (mint, vanilla, berry, citrus, and natural) and is also available in four strengths (300, 600, 1200, and 2400mg per bottle).</p>
$39
NuLeaf Naturals
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzExNTgyMX0.D6qMGYllKTsVhEkQ-L_GzpDHVu60a-tJKcio7M1Ssmc/img.jpg?width=980" id="94e4a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3609a52479675730893a45a82a03c71d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="nuleaf naturals organic cbd oil" data-width="600" data-height="600" /><p>As an industry-leading brand, it comes as no surprise that NuLeaf Naturals sources its CBD extract from organic hemp plants grown on licensed farms in Colorado. The comany's CBD oils only contain two ingredients: USDA certified organic hemp seed oil and full spectrum hemp extract.</p><p>NuLeaf Naturals uses one proprietary CBD oil formula for all of its products, so you will get the same CBD potency in each tincture (60mg per mL), but can purchase different bottle sizes depending on how much you intend to use.</p>
$38.50
Charlotte's Web
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjk3NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQ0NjM4N30.SaQ85SK10-MWjN3PwHo2RqpiUBdjhD0IRnHKTqKaU7Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="84700" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a2174067dcc0c4094be25b3472ce08c8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="charlottes web cbd oil" data-width="1244" data-height="1244" /><p>Perhaps one of the most well-known brands in the CBD landscape, Charlotte's Web has been growing sustainable hemp plants for several years. The company is currently in the process of achieving official USDA Organic Certification, but it already practices organic and sustainable cultivation techniques to enhance the overall health of the soil and the hemp plants themselves, which creates some of the highest quality CBD extracts. Charlotte's Web offers CBD oils in a range of different concentration options, and some even come in a few flavor options such as chocolate mint, orange blossom, and lemon twist.</p>
$60
From Your Site Articles
- Best CBD Oils of 2020: Reviews & Buying Guide - EcoWatch ›
- Best CBD Oil for Pain Management - Top 10 CBD Oil Review 2020 ... ›
- Best CBD for Dogs 2020 - Organic CBD Oil for Pets - EcoWatch ›
- Full Spectrum CBD Oil: What To Know - EcoWatch ›
- Best CBD Waters: Plus All You Need to Know - EcoWatch ›
- The Best Water Soluble CBD Available Online - EcoWatch ›
- Best CBD for Sleep (Lab-Tested, Person-Tested Oils) - EcoWatch ›
- Strongest CBD Oils to Buy in 2021? - EcoWatch ›
- Best CBD Oils For Pain: Top 3 Brands of 2021 - EcoWatch ›
- 8 Science-Based Benefits of CBD Oil - EcoWatch ›
- Best CBD Vape Pen: Top Brands of 2020 - EcoWatch ›
- Because Price Matters: Most Affordable CBD Oils of 2021 - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Algal blooms from fertilizer pollution are among the causes behind global coastal darkening. Gooddenka / Getty Images
Coastal waters around the world are growing darker from pollution and runoff. This has the potential to create huge problems for the ocean and its marine life.
<p>Coastal darkening is a change in the color and clarity of water. According to <a href="https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/the-environmental-threat-youve-never-heard-of/" target="_blank">Hakai Magazine</a>, the underlying causes include fertilizer pollution creating algal blooms, along with boats stirring up silt. Both of these issues block light. Even heavy rains can contribute when they loosen organic matter from decaying plants and soil, carrying them to the ocean as a brown, light-blocking slurry, Hakai Magazine noted.</p><p>According to <a href="https://sciencenorway.no/environmental-surveillance-ocean/the-sea-along-norways-coast-has-gotten-darker-thats-bad-news-for-fish-seagrass-and-kelp/1804006" target="_blank">Science Norway</a>, sunlight hitting these particles gets absorbed or blocked, instead of penetrating further down the water column. The result is that the underwater world is darker. Science Norway also reported that the amount of loose organic material that ends up in the sea has increased during the last 30 years.</p><p>"It's affecting the quality of the sea we know," Oliver Zielinski, who runs the <a href="https://uol.de/en/icbm/collaborative-projects/coastal-ocean-darkening" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Coastal Ocean Darkening project</a> at the University of Oldenburg in Germany, told Hakai Magazine.</p><p>According to the <a href="https://uol.de/en/icbm/collaborative-projects/coastal-ocean-darkening" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">project's website</a>, "Light availability in the coastal ocean is closely coupled to its physical, biological and chemical processes and is experiencing changes on all spatial and temporal scales." This will have profound ecological implications that are just beginning to be understood.</p>
<p>First, physical impediments create biological changes in water. A study from the Coastal Ocean Darkening project published in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.547829/full" target="_blank">Frontiers in Marine Science</a> showed that as more organic matter blocked sunlight from penetrating the water, phytoplankton concentrations dropped. Because phytoplankton are the base of the oceanic food chain, decreasing numbers and shifting concentrations of specific types could have catastrophic, cascading consequences for the entire ecosystem, Hakai Magazine reported.</p><p>Over time, other biological changes in marine life might be observed, the study found. Decreased light availability benefits creatures such as jellyfish that don't rely on sight to hunt, while hindering those that are visual hunters, such as fish, Hakai Magazine reported. A <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230774741_Coastal_water_darkening_and_implications_for_mesopelagic_regime_shifts_in_Norwegian_fjords" target="_blank">2009 study</a> found that coastal water darkening was implicated in regime shifts of predominant animals in Norwegian fjords. For example, jellyfish enjoyed a "mass occurrence" after more than 70 years of coastal darkening in the fjords. </p><p>A 2021 report of Norwegian fjords found that darkening makes life difficult for plankton, kelp, seagrass and fish because all depend on light to make their food, reported Science Norway. Reductions in vast ecosystems, such as kelp forests and seagrass beds because of light scarcity, have negative consequences for fish species that use these areas as nurseries, the report added.</p><p>The Coastal Ocean Darkening study predicted that ongoing and future <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate change</a> would intensify this darkening. The climate crisis and warming ocean temperatures will <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change-extreme-weather-2639274656.html" target="_self">result in more extreme weather</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-crisis-hurricanes-wetter-2639175731.html" target="_self">increased rainfall</a>, Science Norway reported. These, in turn, will intensify runoff into coastal ecosystems, causing browner, darker water. Human activity and changes in land use could also result in "large pulses of soil and sediment" smothering coastal ecosystems and reducing light penetration and water clarity, Hakai Magazine reported.</p>
<p>A separate study from the Norwegian Institute for Water Research published by the <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b03093" target="_blank">American Chemical Society</a> found that ocean darkening is also changing the chemical makeup of the water. When less light penetrates, methyl mercury, which results when sunlight breaks down toxic chemicals, lingers and accumulates in the water. This allows methyl mercury and other organic contaminants to readily transfer into the fish food web and, eventually, humans, Hakai Magazine reported.</p><p>So, what can be done?</p><p>Science Norway suggested stricter land-use regulations for areas that drain to rivers and other bodies of water. Reducing nutrient runoff to these areas will also reduce the amount that eventually makes it to the sea.</p><p>"For example, the authorities could impose stricter regulations on when farmers are allowed to plow their fields, or a requirement to preserve wetlands," said Helene Frigstad, the project manager behind the 2021 report on Norwegian fjords.</p><p>With this relatively unknown environmental phenomenon already altering waterways along the world's coasts, more research is needed to pinpoint exact consequences and potential solutions.</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Human Noise Pollution Is Harming Ocean Creatures - EcoWatch ›
- Mercury Pollution Found in Deepest Part of Ocean - EcoWatch ›
- Study: Plastic Pollution Increases Ocean Acidification - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Trending
The Milky Way seen from the Izu Peninsula, Japan, on the Pacific Ocean coast. Krzysztof Baranowski / Moment / Getty Images
When you look up at the Milky Way, you may be looking at stars surrounded by planets with oceans like ours.
<p>A study published in<em> <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/8/eabc0444" target="_blank">Science Advances</a> </em>on Feb. 17 found that <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/water" target="_self">water</a> could have been part of Earth's early formation, increasing the likelihood that this would be the case for other planets, too.</p><p>"All our data suggest that water was part of Earth's building blocks, right from the beginning. And because the water molecule is frequently occurring, there is a reasonable probability that it applies to all planets in the Milky Way," study lead author professor Anders Johansen from the Centre for Star and Planet Formation at the GLOBE Institute at the University of Copenhagen said in a <a href="https://healthsciences.ku.dk/newsfaculty-news/2021/02/the-milky-way-may-be-swarming-with-planets-with-oceans-and-continents-like-here-on-earth/" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p>
<p>Scientists previously theorized that water arrived on planets like Earth after they formed through collisions with ice asteroids. This would make the presence of water on any planet in the galaxy a matter of chance. But, in recent years, new theories have emerged. Another <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/origin-water-earth-2647413989.html" target="_self">paper published in August 2020</a> found that water may have been part of Earth's original building blocks.</p><p>That paper, led by the French-based Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques, drew its conclusions by looking at the composition of a type of meteorite that has a similar composition to early Earth.</p>
<p>The new study, on the other hand, was based on computer models. The researchers modeled planet formation to see how long it would take using which building blocks. They calculated that Earth, Venus and Mars were all made through a process called "pebble accretion," in which millimeter-sized particles of dust and ice gather together into planets.</p><p>"Up to the point where Earth had grown to one percent of its current mass, our planet grew by capturing masses of pebbles filled with ice and carbon. Earth then grew faster and faster until, after five million years, it became as large as we know it today," Johansen said in the press release.</p>
<p>This theory does not require water to be brought to a planet from outside. Instead, what determines the presence of liquid water on the planet is how far it is from its sun. It also increases the likelihood that liquid water would form on other planets in our galaxy, since they could have formed in the same way from the same materials.</p><p>This, in turn, increases the chance that these planets would host extraterrestrial life.</p><p>'With our model, all planets get the same amount of water, and this suggests that other planets may have not just the same amount of water and oceans, but also the same amount of continents as here on Earth. It provides good opportunities for the emergence of life," study co-author professor Martin Bizzarro, also at the University of Copenhagen, said in the press release.</p>
<p>This is not the first study to suggest that other planets in our galaxy were likely to have oceans. A<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/are-planets-with-oceans-common-in-the-galaxy-it-s-likely-nasa-scientists-find" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> NASA-led study published in June of 2020</a> looked at the likelihood that other planets in the Milky Way would have ice-covered oceans similar to those on Saturn's moon Enceladus and Jupiter's moon Europa. They calculated that 14 of the 53 planets they studied could be ocean worlds.</p>
From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
David Mark / Pixabay
By Douglas McCauley
This article is part of The Davos Agenda.
The year 2050 has been predicted by some to be a bleak year for the ocean. Experts say that by 2050 there may be more plastic than fish in the sea, or perhaps only plastic left. Others say 90% of our coral reefs may be dead, waves of mass marine extinction may be unleashed, and our seas may be left overheated, acidified and lacking oxygen.
<p>It is easy to forget that 2050 is not that far off. Kids we see building sandcastles on the beach today might be gaining traction in their jobs and perhaps starting their own families. The possibility that our children may inherit from us such a broken and diminished ocean is hard to accept.</p><p>Such a future, however, is not yet written in stone. A healthier, more whole, and maybe even more profitable future ocean may still be within reach – at least for a little while.</p><p>Here are 10 steps that could take us towards a more desirable ocean future:</p>
<p><strong>1. </strong><strong>Freeze the warming. </strong>Stopping climate change is the hardest but most important step we can take for ocean health. It is good news to have the US back in the Paris Agreement. However, we now need ambitious national commitments to achieve carbon neutrality from all signatories of the Agreement. <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/strategies/2050_en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Recent actions</a> by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/world/asia/china-climate-change.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">China</a>, the EU, <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/japan-zero-emissions-carbon-neutral-society-2050/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Japan</a> and the <a href="https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/net-zero-target" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">UK</a> are also positive.</p>
<p><strong></strong><strong>2. Walk the talk.</strong> We need to make these carbon neutrality commitments real. This will require massive new investment in renewable energy sources, including some more experimental solutions (such as <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2020/physics-fusion-studies-0929" target="_blank">fusion</a>), plus potentially looking with open minds into making older low-carbon energy solutions safer and more viable (such as traditional nuclear). We need to fast-track the development of <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/the-race-to-crack-battery-recycling-before-its-too-late/" target="_blank">sustainable next-generation batteries</a> to store this energy intelligently across our grids. This includes major needs for marine energy infrastructure. A future, for example, with electrified ports and <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/12/swedish-firm-wind-powered-cargo-ships" target="_blank">low-emission ships</a> would help eliminate the epidemic of deafening ocean noise, address environmental injustices associated with pollution in ports, make oil spills a thing of the past, and <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/shipping-industry-carbon-emissions-climate-change-environment-ocean/" target="_blank">significantly reduce global emissions</a>.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY3Mjg5Ny9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MzQ3MTI2NH0.ZLuv07dHLm7ITapvpvcgAVgPFShhErVUUWlGgIB6qwo/img.gif?width=980" id="19805" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8552069a0a59a11262e7aeb466188c42" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="641" data-height="320" />
A NASA model showing CO2 (the yellow/red swirls) moving across the globe.
<p><strong>3. Blue revolution.</strong> The "green revolution" – a massive ramping up of food production on land in the 1950s – has belatedly reached the sea. Ocean farming, or aquaculture, <a href="https://www.mba.ac.uk/two-views-revolution-aquaculture" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">has increased by more than 1,000%</a> in the ocean recently. The green revolution was sloppily executed, and the first baby steps of the blue revolution have included similar stumbles: chemical pollution, genetic pollution and habitat destruction. But the blue revolution can still clean up its act. Farming in the right places, with the right species, and the right practices could make aquaculture a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23308249.2020.1782342" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">win for human and environmental health</a>. Ocean food research (into <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariellasimke/2020/10/21/everything-you-need-to-know-about-plant-based-seafood/#57b520dc7655" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">plant-based</a> and<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2019.00043/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> cell-based</a> seafood, for example) could also help us meet growing demand for seafood sustainably.</p>
<p><strong>4. 30 x 30. </strong>Parks protect some of our most important chunks of nature on land – our Yellowstones and Serengetis. <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/11/national-parks-transformed-conservation-now-we-need-underwater-parks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">We are vastly behind</a> setting up parks in the sea. We need to follow through on calls to protect <a href="https://www.campaignfornature.org/cbd-intervention" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">30% of our ocean by 2030</a>. This must be as much about quality as quantity. We need to use <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/protect-ocean-biodiversity-hotspots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">intelligent planning algorithms</a> and the intelligence of local and indigenous people to select the very best 30% of the sea to protect. Then the hard work begins. We must develop and deploy <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6278/1148" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">new technology</a> to monitor and protect the living assets we put in these ocean savings accounts.</p>
<p><strong>5. The other 70%. </strong>An <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/january/oceans-extinction-cycle-011615.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ocean industrial revolution</a> is beginning. Human industry is growing at <a href="https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2020-01-26-human-pressure-on-worlds-ocean-shows-no-sign-of-slowing.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">exponential rates</a> in the sea. Even if we succeed in protecting 30% of the ocean, we must still intelligently zone and manage this accelerated anthropogenic growth in the majority of our unprotected ocean. We largely missed that boat on land. Proactive steps to sustainably onboard an ocean industrial revolution include responsibly managing wild capture fisheries (and<a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/2596" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> making more money</a> in the process),<a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/109/12/4696" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> carefully zoning</a> what marine industries go where,<a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/harmful-fisheries-subsidies-wto/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> eliminating harmful fisheries subsidies</a>, and coming to grips with the fact that some new marine industries,<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/14/opinion/deep-ocean-mining-pollution.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> like ocean mining</a>, are simply too dangerous to be allowed into the ocean.</p>
<p><strong>6. Big cracks in the sea. </strong>Most of the ocean belongs to us all. This includes the two-thirds of the ocean in the high seas that lies beyond all nations' ocean borders and the marine regions surrounding Antarctica. Protection of biodiversity and equitable sharing of resources has slipped through antiquated governance gaps in these international ocean spaces. But<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/14/opinion/deep-ocean-mining-pollution.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> a proposed new UN Treaty for high seas biodiversity</a> – and<a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/11/once-again-new-antarctic-reserves-fail-win-backing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> negotiations to sustainably manage and protect Antarctic waters</a> could help.</p>
<p><strong>7. End plastic pollution.</strong> <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2020/07/23/breaking-the-plastic-wave-top-findings" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Plastic pollution</a> is the ocean's new cancer. We need to ban unnecessary plastics and tax other single use plastics, finally making them valuable materials we want to recover and helping to pay for the full cost of their environmental impacts. We need <a href="https://cleancurrentscoalition.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">research and tech</a> to prevent plastics from leaking into the sea, to overhaul our recycling systems, and to design economically viable alternatives to plastics. This progress may be accelerated by a proposed international <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/19/uk-to-support-plans-for-new-global-treaty-to-turn-tide-on-plastic-pollution" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">'Paris Agreement' for plastic pollution</a>.</p>
<p><strong>8. Land.</strong> We can help the ocean by first setting a few things right on land. We must massively increase our ambition to <a href="https://www.1t.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">save our forests</a>, thus locking up a huge chunk of carbon dioxide. We need to stop wastefully spilling megatons of costly fertilizers into rivers that are <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/321/5891/926" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">creating hundreds of marine dead zones</a>. Precision agriculture that optimizes fertilizer use, coupled with other <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/03/this-is-how-china-cut-fertilizer-use-and-boosted-crop-yields/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">farming reform practices</a> can help.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY3MjkzMS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3NTA2ODIxMn0.Ivf0tKh3NpDW-yGwOpnkR9tNV3DFCYx_QXE6V3gNuUE/img.png?width=980" id="c9e4d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b5a0b8bd1ebfed156eff9b4864ece1f9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1540" data-height="1074" />
An algal bloom seen in Lake St. Clair, between Michigan and Ontario, in 2015. NASA
<p><strong>9. Wired ocean.</strong> We need more ocean data. This includes new tech to <a href="https://globalfishingwatch.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">detect illegal fishing</a> and connect sustainable fishers to consumers. We need <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/this-new-technology-can-save-whales-from-ship-collisions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tech to help endangered marine wildlife</a> co-exist with ocean industry and fleets of environmental sensors <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/shark-conservation-drones-artificial-intelligence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">above</a> and <a href="https://www.wired.com/video/watch/robots-that-swim-around-solving-mysteries" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">below</a> the water to better study our rapidly changing ocean.</p>
<p><strong></strong><strong>10. Ocean equity.</strong> To build a healthy ocean, we must ensure all people have a <a href="https://vimeo.com/462717055" target="_blank">fair stake in its success</a> and that they are no longer unevenly harmed by ocean health risks. The fate of the ocean will affect people in all communities. Thus, we need people from all communities in ocean science, management, and policy.</p><p>Fulfilling the apocalyptic predictions for a 2050 ocean will be all too easy. Altering that ocean future may be one of the hardest things we've ever collectively achieved. But the consequences of inaction will be even harder to shoulder – for us and our ocean.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/02/a-10-step-plan-to-save-our-oceans/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- The Top 10 Ocean Biodiversity Hotspots to Protect - EcoWatch ›
- 15 Top Conservation Issues of 2021 Include Big Threats, Potential ... ›
- What if We Treated Our Oceans as if They Matter? - EcoWatch ›
- House Democrats Introduce Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Whale sharks have unique spot patterns behind their gills that allow them to be individually identified using NASA pattern recognition technology. Tiffany Duong / Ocean Rebels
The oceans and space are two of the last frontiers of discovery. It is only fitting, then, that technology originally designed to help map stars imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope has now been adapted to match spot patterns on the world's largest fish, the whale shark, to help save it.
<p>Whale sharks can grow up to 40 feet in length and weigh more than 20 tons, reported <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/brad-norman-explorer-moments-identification-system-helps-protect-whale-sharks" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">National Geographic</a>. Despite their giant size, a lot remains unknown about these gentle, elusive giants. Currently, there is no robust estimate of the current global whale shark population, but, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2021/02/09/cte-brad-norman-whale-sharks-new-spc-intl-hnk.cnn/video/playlists/call-to-earth/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CNN</a>, numbers have dropped more than 50% in the last 75 years.</p><p>The filter-feeding sharks are currently considered endangered by the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/19488/2365291" target="_blank">International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)</a>, with population numbers decreasing. This implies a "very high risk of extinction in the wild," reported <a href="https://www.nationthailand.com/opinion/30346344" target="_blank">The Nation Thailand</a>.</p>
<p>The main reasons for this decline mirror those <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/shark-population-overfishing-2650168793.html#:~:text=An%20alarming%20new%20study%20reports,declined%2071%20percent%20since%201970.&text=Sharks%20and%20rays%2C%20which%20are,The%20New%20York%20Times%20noted." target="_self">threatening the entire family of sharks</a>, The Nation Thailand reported. These include impacts of fisheries, coastal pollution, by-catch loss and vessel strikes, reported IUCN. Another <a href="https://www.iucn.org/news/commission-environmental-economic-and-social-policy/201708/communities-whale-shark-conservation-success-story-gujarat-india" target="_blank">IUCN</a> article also reported that international demand for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/shark-fins" target="_self">shark fins</a>, liver oil, skin and meat has driven the slaughter of thousands of whale sharks. In southern China, large-scale commercial take of whale sharks still appears to be increasing, the first IUCN report found.</p><p>Additionally, the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> has had a "dramatic effect" on whale sharks, CNN reported, altering their prey, water temperatures, currents and hot spots where they might want to go.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, with the population declining, the species also does not replenish itself quickly, with slow growth, late maturation and low fecundity, Petch Manopawitr, a deputy director and Thailand programme coordinator of the IUCN Southeast Asia, told The Nation Thailand.</p><p>"It is alarming to see such emblematic species slide towards extinction," said Jane Smart, director of IUCN's Global Species Programme, reported The Nation Thailand.</p>
<p>To increase understanding about and conservation of the species, Brad Norman, a marine conservationist in Western Australia with Murdoch University, helped found a photo identification program for whale sharks.</p><p>"Each whale shark has distinctive markings – the lines and spots on their skin is like a fingerprint – with no two whale sharks the same," Norman said in a <a href="https://www.murdoch.edu.au/news/articles/using-nasa-tech-to-activate-citizen-scientists" target="_blank">Murdoch University press release</a>.</p><p>Users upload photos of the "special ID area" behind a whale shark's gills to Wildbook, and the technology behind the database reads the distinctive spot patterns like a fingerprint, CNN reported. It actually adapts an algorithm that NASA scientists use in the Hubble space telescope to map stars in the sky in order to identify unique spot patterns on whale sharks' skin and then scan them against the thousands of photos in the database to look for matching patterns, CNN reported. This is much like how fingerprint recognition works.</p><p>"If it's a match, it's the same shark," Norman told CNN.</p>
<p>That program has evolved into the world's largest and most effective wild shark monitoring program – the <a href="https://www.whaleshark.org/" target="_blank">Wildbook for Whale Sharks</a>, which calls on citizen scientists globally to get involved in marine research, the Murdoch University release said. Over 10,000 people from over 50 countries have uploaded images of whale sharks to the central, online database, which helps scientists to identify population hot spots and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/whale-shark-migration-distance-2569087070.html" target="_self">migration data</a>, CNN reported. The crowdsourced data is vital to whale shark conservation and species management.</p><p>From analyzing the photos, "we're starting to find out areas of critical importance to whale sharks, where they're traveling to for important aspects of their life," Norman told CNN.</p><p>Software programmer Jason Holmberg helped develop the Wildbook after being inspired by a scuba diving encounter with one of the giants in the Red Sea. He said, "We're talking about an animal (once) considered to be rare, maybe a couple of hundred documented sightings in all of history," a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/offices/oct/home/tech_life_animals.html" target="_blank">NASA release</a> noted. As of Feb. 2021, the library contained almost 76,0000 sighting reports of over 12,300 individual sharks.</p><p>"[Having] thousands of citizen scientists around the world really generates information about these fish and a lot of public interest that helps conservation of the species,'' Norman told National Geographic. "And the beauty of this is anyone can assist in whale shark research."</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Longest Recorded Whale Shark Migration - EcoWatch ›
- Shark and Ray Populations Declining Rapidly, Scientists Call for ... ›
- Whale Shark Found Dead, Plastic Spoon Stuck in Digestive System ... ›
- Following House Approval, U.S. Has a Chance to Ban the Cruel ... ›
- Sharks Are Vanishing From Many of the World's Reefs - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
New study finds worst-case global sea level rise projections will occur unless immediate action is taken. Kazi Salahuddin Razu / NurPhoto / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
A new study from Australian and Chinese researchers adds weight to scientists' warnings from recent United Nations reports about how sea levels are expected to rise dangerously in the coming decades because of human activity that's driving global heating.
<p>The <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-21265-6" target="_blank">research</a>, published Friday in the journal <em>Nature Communications</em>, found that sea level rise projections for this century "are on the money when tested against satellite and tide-gauge observations," as a statement from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) <a href="https://phys.org/news/2021-02-sea-climate.html" target="_blank">summarized</a>.</p><p>The researchers looked at projections from the <em>Fifth Assessment Report</em> (<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/11/02/time-act-now-ipcc-issues-final-word-climate-change" target="_blank">AR5</a>) of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as well as the body's <em>Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate</em> (<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/09/25/un-climate-report-oceans-frozen-regions-warns-unprecedented-transitions-all-aspects" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SROCC</a>), which include multiple representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios for how much humanity reins in greenhouse gas emissions. </p><p>Based on global and coastal sea level data from satellites and 177 tide-gauges, the researchers found that those two reports' projections under three different RCP scenarios "agree well with satellite and tide-gauge observations over the common period 2007–2018, within the 90% confidence level."</p><p>In other words, "our analysis implies that the models are close to observations and builds confidence in the current projections for the next several decades," said John Church, who is part of UNSW's Climate Change Research Center. The professor noted projections were accurate not only globally but also at the regional and local level.</p>
<p>However, because of the limited 11-year comparison period, Church added, "there remains a potential for larger sea level rises, particularly beyond 2100 for high emission scenarios. Therefore, it is urgent that we still try to meet the commitments of the Paris agreement by significantly reducing emissions."</p><p>The Paris climate agreement aims to limit global temperature rise this century to "well below" 2°C—preferably to 1.5°C—compared to pre-industrial levels. Study after study <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/02/11/study-warns-emissions-cuts-must-be-80-more-ambitious-meet-even-dangerously" target="_blank">has shown</a> that current emissions pledges aren't adequate to even meet the higher target. The U.N. reports' three studied pathways are RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5, with the first being the closest to the less ambitious Paris goal and the last being the most dire.</p><p>"The analysis of the recent sea level data indicate the world is tracking between RCP4.5 and the worst case scenario of RCP8.5," Church warned. "If we continue with large ongoing emissions as we are at present, we will commit the world to meters of sea level rise over coming centuries."</p>
<div id="2ff86" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8ec6ec9cbd12155d88a9c8d140a70a8b"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1361735429536559108" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">"The analysis of the recent sea level data indicate the world is tracking between RCP4.5 and the worst case scenari… https://t.co/GV72drxa1S</div> — John Morales (@John Morales)<a href="https://twitter.com/JohnMoralesNBC6/statuses/1361735429536559108">1613498000.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The release of the SROCC in September 2019—with its warnings about the dramatic impact that global heating will soon have on humanity, marine ecosystems, and the global environment—<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/09/25/un-climate-report-oceans-frozen-regions-warns-unprecedented-transitions-all-aspects" target="_blank">sparked</a> a flood of demands for bolder climate policy.</p><p>As Food & Water Action executive director Wenonah Hauter said at the time, "This report tells us that due to decades of foolish reliance on fossil fuels and resulting climate warming, our oceans are on life support, which means we are all now on life support."</p><p>"We must treat this alarming science as a final warning: In order to avoid a fate of extreme global climate chaos and mass death at the hands of our poisoned oceans, we must act swiftly and aggressively to turn the tide now," Hauter added. "We have been given a final warning. There can be no more excuses."</p><p>The IPCC's SROCC <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/09/25/un-climate-report-oceans-frozen-regions-warns-unprecedented-transitions-all-aspects" target="_blank">found</a> that global sea level could rise by 30-60 centimeters, or about 1-2 feet, by 2100—and a rise of 110 centimeters, over 3.5 feet, was possible but unlikely. However, researchers from the University of Copenhagen's Niels Bohr Institute recently <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/02/sea-level-rise-could-be-worse-than-feared-warn-researchers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">found</a> that under the worst case scenario, the world could see a rise of 135 centimeters, or about 4.4 feet, by the century's end.</p>
<p>"The models we are basing our predictions of sea level rise on presently are not sensitive enough," <a href="https://os.copernicus.org/articles/17/181/2021/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a> Aslak Grinsted, associate professor at the institute. "To put it plainly, they don't hit the mark when we compare them to the rate of sea level rise we see when comparing future scenarios with observations going back in time."</p><p>The institute's <a href="https://os.copernicus.org/articles/17/181/2021/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">research</a>, published earlier this month in the journal <em>Ocean Science</em>, introduces a new method of quantifying how the sea reacts to warming, which involves analysis of historical data.</p><p>"You could say," Grinsted added, "that this article has two main messages: The scenarios we see before us now regarding sea level rise are too conservative—the sea looks, using our method, to rise more than what is believed using the present method. The other message is that research in this area can benefit from using our method to constrain sea level models in the scenarios in the future."</p><p>In a Twitter thread on Sunday, Grinsted <a href="https://twitter.com/AGrinsted/status/1360937453109075970" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">detailed</a> how the new study in <em>Nature Communications</em> "zooms in at 2007-2018 and finds no significant disagreement" with the research his team released, which found "a substantial discrepancy between the sensitivity of sea level models and observations."</p><p>"Both studies would have been able to make more solid conclusions if the IPCC had published hindcasts," Grinsted <a href="https://twitter.com/AGrinsted/status/1360937477029171208" target="_blank">said</a> at the end of the thread. "I hope that upcoming IPCC will take this to heart and publish hindcasts (e.g. 1850-now)."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/02/16/bolstering-alarm-over-scientists-warnings-new-study-finds-sea-level-rise-projections" target="_blank">Common Dreams.</a></em></p>From Your Site Articles
- Which Countries Have Lost the Most to Sea Level Rise? - EcoWatch ›
- Sea Level Rise Is Locked in Even If We Meet Paris Agreement ... ›
- Worst Case Sea Level Rise by Century's End Could Be Doubled ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Trending
A Coca-Cola bottle pollutes a river in France. Alain Pitton / NurPhoto via Getty Images
In December 2020, a report found Coca-Cola was the top corporate plastic polluter for the third year in a row, meaning its products were found clogging the most places with the largest amounts of plastic pollution.
<p>The company seems to be aiming to clean up its act somewhat this year with the introduction of a 13.2-ounce bottle made with 100-percent <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/recycling" target="_self">recycled</a> PET (rPET) plastic. The company <a href="https://www.coca-colacompany.com/news/packaging-sustainability-in-united-states" target="_blank">announced</a> the new bottle's debut in select U.S. states this February, but environmental organizations said the move was too little, too late.</p><p>"In 1990, <a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUaSp-2BN9tnAcI5VSxIezu-2B2tTy0eA3-2FgXcsFJYzvF7FFl7AW5ZknGpqvSvk6gI-2FxjAy2uPYZMRbxXilqRhRRioAXE-2Bn2apOb0rxmFaqHtBQVzqLC9AFOwjLQ75X6O8vFl2lbGZDpmvbi9N-2BtUUeZBDrL4gZEk-2Ffkpglj0YCQt9FJG4ZNu_9DWd1IQpF0pa6moAa2K0USVLPw-2BdyUxYOf6Uxh7iNF2j-2F-2B0i4WsvfzVmvKM60HQTKBTl7-2FdSSDZkDf9HSA47QUmgHfQ3pfCbKBt6d7suISyU8aOtRigGCgCehfchPh0Po7w6ZyKL8uU9BmvEWmf-2B8QxEDc0kD5DE9XFKuqEM472yKOzkkbnIE3DookHKOOo-2BZNFQkQ7wX9pWu-2FO6O5cdwPXUqYqD4PxwInBqFCdbpWS1mBYS6ufaDApOtFiZq6Fcebsa6DfyeyuYm-2Bz-2BF1ebJIzOtIQXnkuptCbDtZ2-2Fe1sHUyY3deIB6BeeCq2itx0EjAlh1xw-2FkrK8lId612hX-2FRfZml7ZvNqtG7jAyLS0-2BL4-3D" target="_blank">Coca-Cola and Pepsi announced plans to sell their products in recycled plastic bottles</a>. The Washington Post quoted Greenpeace as 'unimpressed' at the time, urging the companies to eliminate single-use plastics altogether," Greenpeace USA senior plastics campaigner Kate Melge said in a statement emailed to EcoWatch. "Thirty one years later, companies should not still be boasting about transitioning to recycled content. We remain unimpressed."</p>
<p>The new bottles are the first ever made with 100 percent rPET plastic in the U.S., the company said. They will launch with its Coke-label beverages and Sprite in California, Florida and certain Northeast states this month and spread to other sparkling drinks in the summer.</p><p>In addition to the smaller 13.2-ounce bottles, the company will also launch a traditional 20-ounce 100 percent rPET bottle for Coke brands in California, Texas and New York this month. It's bottled water brand, DASANI, will follow with a 20-ounce rPET bottle in the same three states in March, while Smartwater will launch 20-ounce rPET bottles in New York and California in July. The company will shift all Sprite packaging to clear material, which is easier to recycle, by the end of 2022.</p>
<p>All together, the company said these measures would reduce its use of new plastic in North America by 20 percent compared to 2018 levels. They would also eliminate 10,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. every year, the equivalent of taking 2,120 cars off the road for a year.</p><p>"Challenges around plastic packaging waste and recycling continue to be top of mind for our consumers, customers and our system," Alpa Sutaria, the vice president and general manager for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sustainability" target="_self">sustainability</a> at Coca-Cola's North America Operating Unit, said in the company announcement. "Introducing 100% recycled PET bottles is a big proof point of how recycling can help create a circular economy."</p>
<p>The U.S. announcement comes little more than a year after Coca-Cola <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coca-cola-plastic-pollution-2644896488.html" target="_self">said outright</a> it would not move away from plastic altogether. The company's head of sustainability Bea Perez told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos that customers valued the plastic bottles for their light weight and easy resealability.</p><p>"Business won't be in business if we don't accommodate consumers," Perez said at the time.</p><p>Coca-Cola has an overall goal of making 100 percent of its packaging recyclable by 2025, making its bottles with 50 percent recycled material by 2030 and collecting and recycling the equivalent of a bottle or can for every beverage it sells by the same date. Currently, it offers 100 percent rPET bottles in more than 25 markets, and more than 94 percent of its North American packaging is recyclable.</p>
<p>However, environmental organizations have argued that more recycling is not the solution to the plastic pollution crisis. For one thing, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/recycling-plastic-reality-2615116844.html" target="_self">less than 10 percent</a> of the plastic used in the U.S. is actually recycled, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And more than half of that is sent abroad, often to poorer countries that struggle to manage it effectively, a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/world-plastic-waste-leader-us-2648607158.html" target="_self">2020 study based on 2016 data found</a>. Further, a recent investigative series from NPR and PBS's <em>Frontline</em> revealed that oil and gas companies had known since the 1970s that plastic recycling was not possible at scale, but continued to promote it in order to sidestep criticism of their products.</p>
<p>"Selling recycling sold plastic, even if it wasn't true," a former plastic executive told NPR, as EcoWatch <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/plastic-recycling-myth-2647706452.html" target="_self">reported</a> at the time.</p><p>This history has made campaigners skeptical of corporate recycling pushes.</p><p>"Since the 1970s, these consumer goods giants have <a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUZWF4KdJRrMe8gKAsZknlq83IiQ3tif74vD2xXz6JwTTt0XGJG9qGMHpxMs4YfUtKj5S-2BfFbubK0A1L5WdaYCFsvY5TyYc8t7QoqMCvPCn04d340n-2Bv39FYEcpvN8nIgog8fROSuWU8OPvdQH6RDFQI-3DLOHp_9DWd1IQpF0pa6moAa2K0USVLPw-2BdyUxYOf6Uxh7iNF2j-2F-2B0i4WsvfzVmvKM60HQTKBTl7-2FdSSDZkDf9HSA47QUmgHfQ3pfCbKBt6d7suISyU8aOtRigGCgCehfchPh0Po7w6ZyKL8uU9BmvEWmf-2B8QxEDc0kD5DE9XFKuqEM472yKOzkkbnIE3DookHKOOo-2B-2FAF39YOHIQvGoR2L6tOvjRMVUAALROtH2vtMqy3bB-2F25-2BzGp1SjqrzPlhOv3nRkOVGA5TOA07F1ObXtajx3EEumzpbXq3bslbpUFhwZdcAkdjT4l6EGWxopL26NIB3Ovedn9uLZAgzIf5y6lMPtSz7bMLmTNblXWbbvRyqhWOyU-3D" target="_blank">joined with the fossil fuel industry to use recycling as justification to continue relying on polluting plastics</a>," Melges said. "And the climate crisis has gotten worse, our <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">oceans</a> have grown more polluted, and the health of communities worldwide has deteriorated thanks to this profit model that puts the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries before everything else. If Coke wants to make real news, it should announce that it is finally ending its reliance on plastics altogether."</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Coca-Cola Says It Won't Break Free From Plastic Bottles - EcoWatch ›
- The Complex and Frustrating Reality of Recycling Plastic - EcoWatch ›
- Plastic Pollution Is 'Low Priority' for Shoppers, Soft Drink Execs Tell ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Scientists recently discovered life deep beneath the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica. O.V.E.R.V.I.E.W. / CC BY 2.0
Scientists recently made an unexpected discovery while drilling for sediment on an Antarctic ice shelf.
<p>The researchers were drilling on the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, about 160 miles from the open <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ocean" target="_self">ocean</a>, and hit almost 3,000 feet when they caught surprising camera footage of sponges and other stationary <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/animals/" target="_self">animals</a> on a sea floor boulder, according to a <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/discovery-of-life-beneath-antarcticas-ice-shelves/" target="_blank">British Antarctic Survey (BAS) press release</a>.</p><p>"It's slightly bonkers," Dr. Huw Griffiths, a BAS marine biogeographer and lead author on the paper announcing the find, told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/15/researchers-rethink-life-in-a-cold-climate-after-antarctic-find" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. "Never in a million years would we have thought about looking for this kind of life, because we didn't think it would be there."</p>
<div id="7cd5c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b63aee6fed87da72e861edbd9339ca0c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1361198123213852673" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Accidental discovery of extreme life! Far underneath the ice shelves of the #Antarctic, there’s more life than expe… https://t.co/ES708yKpG3</div> — British Antarctic Survey (@British Antarctic Survey)<a href="https://twitter.com/BAS_News/statuses/1361198123213852673">1613369897.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The discovery, published Monday in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.642040/full" target="_blank">Frontiers in Marine Science</a>, challenges previously held ideas about what types of life could survive beneath the ice. Previous expeditions observed mobile scavengers and predators such as fish and jellyfish, but scientists predicted life would become less frequent the further beneath the ice sheet one traveled from sunlight and open water, BAS explained. Discovering sedentary filter-feeders is especially surprising, because these types of animals depend on food reaching them from the surface. At the same time, little is known about the world beneath these ice sheets. They cover more than 0.6 million square miles, but scientists have only explored a tennis court-sized area.</p><p>"Our discovery raises so many more questions than it answers," Griffiths said in the press release, "such as how did they get there? What are they eating? How long have they been there? How common are these boulders covered in life? Are these the same species as we see outside the ice shelf or are they new species?"</p><p>The food question is especially mysterious. Animals stuck to the sea floor subsist on a diet of "marine snow," dead <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life" target="_self">marine life</a> remains that eventually sink to the bottom, <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/scientists-discover-strange-creatures-under-a-half-mile-of-ice/" target="_blank">WIRED explained</a>. However, because these creatures are below the ice, researchers think the marine snow must be traveling horizontally. Still, the nearest productive areas are between 370 and 930 miles away — 133 times the seven miles marine snow must travel to reach the deepest part of the ocean.</p>
<p>To learn more, researchers now need to find a way to collect the animal specimens they have only seen on camera.</p><p>"To answer our questions we will have to find a way of getting up close with these animals and their environment – and that's under 900 m of ice, 260 km away from the ships where our labs are," Griffiths said in the press release. "This means that as polar scientists we are going to have to find new and innovative ways to study them and answer all the new questions we have."</p><p>The researchers are also racing against the clock. The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> threatens these ice shelves, along with the mysterious communities they support.</p><p>"There is a potential that some of these big ice shelves in the future could collapse," Griffiths told WIRED, "and we could lose a unique ecosystem."</p>
Read More
Show Less
Trending
Close-up of white plastic bag with yellow smiley slowly drifting under surface of water with school of tropical fish. Andrey Nekrasov / Barcroft Media / Getty Images
By Alexandra McInturf and Matthew Savoca
Trillions of barely visible pieces of plastic are floating in the world's oceans, from surface waters to the deep seas. These particles, known as microplastics, typically form when larger plastic objects such as shopping bags and food containers break down.
<p>
Researchers are concerned about microplastics because they are minuscule, widely distributed and easy for wildlife to consume, <a href="https://theconversation.com/bait-and-switch-anchovies-eat-plastic-because-it-smells-like-prey-81607" target="_blank">accidentally or intentionally</a>. We study <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uo1sSBwAAAAJ&hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">marine science</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=8Gb9COIAAAAJ&hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">animal behavior</a>, and wanted to understand the scale of this problem. In a newly published study that we conducted with ecologist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=mI9gJxIAAAAJ&hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Elliott Hazen</a>, we examined how marine fish – including species consumed by humans – are ingesting synthetic particles of all sizes.
</p><p>
In the broadest review on this topic that has been carried out to date, we found that, so far, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.15533" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">386 marine fish species are known to have ingested plastic debris</a>, including 210 species that are commercially important. But findings of fish consuming plastic are on the rise. We speculate that this could be happening both because detection methods for microplastics are improving and because ocean plastic pollution continues to increase.
</p>
<script async="async" data-counter="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154634/count?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" id="theconversation_tracker_hook" src="https://theconversation.com/javascripts/lib/content_tracker_hook.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f9fee03d7bfe09024098c385f6d25b35"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LiH3f6AKFbc?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
Solving the Plastics Puzzle
<p>It's not news that wild creatures ingest plastic. The first scientific observation of this problem came <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/4083505" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">from the stomach of a seabird in 1969</a>. Three years later, scientists reported that fish off the coast of southern New England were <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.178.4062.749" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">consuming tiny plastic particles</a>.</p><p>Since then, well over 100 scientific papers have described plastic ingestion in numerous species of fish. But each study has only contributed a small piece of a very important puzzle. To see the problem more clearly, we had to put those pieces together.</p><p>We did this by creating the largest existing database on plastic ingestion by marine fish, drawing on every scientific study of the problem published from 1972 to 2019. We collected a range of information from each study, including what fish species it examined, the number of fish that had eaten plastic and when those fish were caught. Because some regions of the ocean have more plastic pollution than others, we also examined where the fish were found.</p><p>For each species in our database, we identified its diet, habitat and feeding behaviors – for example, whether it preyed on other fish or grazed on algae. By analyzing this data as a whole, we wanted to understand not only how many fish were eating plastic, but also what factors might cause them to do so. The trends that we found were surprising and concerning.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY0NTkxMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxOTQ0OTcxM30.SU0WtFPvuGnQkcP6p80w2-L4Hh6I8q0V0xMYokXK0TA/img.jpg?width=980" id="06de1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="78a2835d228d52fa54bd9acd6a93ce81" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1000" data-height="667" />
Leopard sharks swim past plastic debris in shallow water off southern California. Ralph Pace / CC BY-ND
A Global Problem
<p>Our research revealed that marine fish are ingesting plastic around the globe. According to the 129 scientific papers in our database, researchers have studied this problem in 555 fish species worldwide. We were alarmed to find that more than two-thirds of those species had ingested plastic.</p><p>One important caveat is that not all of these studies looked for microplastics. This is likely because finding microplastics requires specialized equipment, like microscopes, or use of more complex techniques. But when researchers did look for microplastics, they found five times more plastic per individual fish than when they only looked for larger pieces. Studies that were able to detect this previously invisible threat revealed that plastic ingestion was higher than we had originally anticipated.</p><p>Our review of four decades of research indicates that fish consumption of plastic is increasing. Just since an international <a href="http://www.gesamp.org/publications/microplastics-in-the-marine-environment-part-2" target="_blank">assessment conducted for the United Nations in 2016</a>, the number of marine fish species found with plastic has quadrupled.</p><p>Similarly, in the last decade alone, the proportion of fish consuming plastic has doubled across all species. Studies published from 2010-2013 found that an average of 15% of the fish sampled contained plastic; in studies published from 2017-2019, that share rose to 33%.</p><p>We think there are two reasons for this trend. First, scientific techniques for detecting microplastics have improved substantially in the past five years. Many of the earlier studies we examined may not have found microplastics because researchers couldn't see them.</p><p>Second, it is also likely that fish are actually consuming more plastic over time as ocean plastic pollution <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aba9475" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">increases globally</a>. If this is true, we expect the situation to worsen. Multiple studies that have sought to quantify plastic waste project that the amount of plastic pollution in the ocean will <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aba3656" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">continue to increase</a> over the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/%2010.1126/sciadv.1700782" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">next several decades</a>.</p><p><iframe id="vmUzZ" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/vmUzZ/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
Risk Factors
<p>While our findings may make it seem as though fish in the ocean are stuffed to the gills with plastic, the situation is more complex. In our review, almost one-third of the species studied were not found to have consumed plastic. And even in studies that did report plastic ingestion, researchers did not find plastic in every individual fish. Across studies and species, about one in four fish contained plastics – a fraction that seems to be growing with time. Fish that did consume plastic typically had only one or two pieces in their stomachs.</p><p>In our view, this indicates that plastic ingestion by fish may be widespread, but it does not seem to be universal. Nor does it appear random. On the contrary, we were able to predict which species were more likely to eat plastic based on their environment, habitat and feeding behavior.</p><p>For example, fishes such as sharks, grouper and tuna that hunt other fishes or marine organisms as food were more likely to ingest plastic. Consequently, species higher on the food chain were at greater risk.</p><p>We were not surprised that the amount of plastic that fish consumed also seemed to depend on how much plastic was in their environment. Species that live in ocean regions known to have a lot of plastic pollution, such as the Mediterranean Sea and the coasts of East Asia, were found with more plastic in their stomachs.</p><div id="37886" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="417dc0a21a8c48e0a4f97abd03a71ecc"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1339067730306031618" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">WATCH: People are ingesting plastic from drinking water but also through foods like shellfish, which tends to be ea… https://t.co/cKgzBYx2CF</div> — Reuters (@Reuters)<a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/statuses/1339067730306031618">1608093600.0</a></blockquote></div>
Effects of a Plastic Diet
<p>This is not just a wildlife conservation issue. Researchers don't know very much about the effects of ingesting plastic on fish or humans. However, there is evidence that that microplastics and even smaller particles called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-019-0437-7" target="_blank">nanoplastics</a> can move from a fish's stomach to its <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134625" target="_blank">muscle tissue</a>, which is the part that humans typically eat. Our findings highlight the need for studies analyzing how frequently plastics transfer from fish to humans, and their potential effects on the human body.</p><p>Our review is a step toward understanding the global problem of ocean plastic pollution. Of more than 20,000 marine fish species, only roughly 2% have been tested for plastic consumption. And many reaches of the ocean remain to be examined. Nonetheless, what's now clear to us is that "out of sight, out of mind" is not an effective response to ocean pollution – especially when it may end up on our plates.<br></p><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alexandra-mcinturf-1205082" target="_blank">Alexandra McInturf</a> is a PhD Candidate in Animal Behavior at the University of California, Davis. <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/matthew-savoca-313547" target="_blank">Matthew Savoca</a> is a Postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University.</em></p><p><em>Disclosure statement: Alexandra McInturf is affiliated with <a href="https://theethogram.com/" target="_blank">The Ethogram</a>. Matthew Savoca receives funding from The National Geographic Society and the National Science Foundation.</em></p><p><em style="">Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/hundreds-of-fish-species-including-many-that-humans-eat-are-consuming-plastic-154634" target="_blank" style="">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>From Your Site Articles
- Whale Dies After Swallowing 88 Pounds of Plastic Bags - EcoWatch ›
- Ocean Plastic Smells Like Food to Sea Turtles, Study Finds ... ›
- One Third of Freshwater Fish Face Extinction, New Report Warns ›
- Cuttlefish Found Capable of Delayed Gratification, a First for Invertebrates - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
A new study finds that scientists can use fin whale song to help image the ocean floor. JG1153 / Getty Images
A study published in Science on Thursday found that it's possible to use fin whale song for imaging the structure of the Earth's crust beneath the ocean floor.
<p>In order to create <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">ocean</a> floor images, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scientists" target="_self">scientists</a> typically need to use air guns that shoot sound beneath the waves. The sound waves travel through the crust and bounce back to instruments on the seafloor, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whales-long-loud-calls-reveal-structure-beneath-ocean-floor/" target="_blank">Scientific American explained</a>. This provides important information about the workings of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/earthquakes" target="_self">earthquakes</a> and the ocean's ability to store carbon, but the loud noise can interfere with marine mammal communications.</p><p>Now, it looks like scientists have found a new method thanks to marine mammals themselves.</p><p>"It shows these animal vocalizations are useful not just for understanding the animals, but also understanding their environment," John Nabelek, study co-author and Oregon State University College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences professor, said in a university <a href="https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/songs-fin-whales-offer-new-avenue-seismic-studies-oceanic-crust" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p><p>Fin whales can grow to be 60 tons and 80 feet long, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/science/whales-seismic-waves.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. Their songs are proportionate to their size, reaching up to 189 decibels. They can also be heard from 600 miles away, Scientific American reported.</p>
<p>"They're nearly as loud as a big container ship," William Wilcock, a marine geophysicist at the University of Washington and not part of the study, told The New York Times.</p><p>The study found that those sound blasts can help scientists create images of the Earth's subsurface 1.6 miles below the seafloor, Scientific American reported.</p><p>Seismologist Václav Kuna, an Oregon State doctoral student at the time, made this accidental discovery, according to the press release. While listening to seismometer recordings, Kuna kept hearing one-second chirps that would repeat every 30 seconds, The New York Times reported.</p><p>He realized that the sounds were coming from fin whales, but something seemed unusual about them, Scientific American explained. At the time, seismometers, which measure vibrations, were recording the songs, instead of underwater microphones. That meant the whale song was echoing from below ground.</p>
<p>"After each whale call, if you look closely at the seismometer data, there is a response from the Earth," Nabelek said in the press release.</p><p>The press release explained the process and its meaning for the scientists:</p><blockquote>Whale calls bounce between the ocean surface and the ocean bottom. Part of the energy from the calls transmits through the ground as a seismic wave. The wave travels through the oceanic crust, where it is reflected and refracted by the ocean sediment, the basalt layer underneath it and the gabbroic lower crust below that.<br><br>When the waves are recorded at the seismometer, they can provide information that allows researchers to estimate and map the structure of the crust.</blockquote><p>The researchers were able to use songs recorded by three different seismometers in order to pinpoint the whales' location and make images based on their calls.</p><p>Imaging the area immediately below the seafloor can help scientists understand earthquakes and how they impact ocean sediment. The whale songs could also provide information about the location of earthquakes and the amount of carbon that can be stored in ocean sediments, Scientific American reported.</p>
<p>Because fin whales live everywhere except the ice-covered Arctic, their songs are a widely available tool, Wilcock told Scientific American.</p><p>Kuna told The New York Times that he did not think fin whale songs could replace air guns since they create relatively weak seismic waves and therefore low-resolution images. But air gun surveys are expensive and it can be hard to obtain permits to use them, so whale songs can fill in the gaps, the press release explained. And relying more on whale songs can reduce the underwater noise pollution that is harming marine life, according to a recent <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/ocean-noise-pollution-humans-2650329818.html" target="_self">scientific review</a>.</p><p>"It's win-win," Kuna told The New York Times.</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Bowhead Whale Population Recovers Despite Arctic Warming ... ›
- Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale Calves Spotted Off Coast ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Bottom trawling may soon be banned in some of England's Marine Protected Areas. Monty Rakusen / Getty Images
In a possible victory for UK oceans, four key areas of the seabed off England may soon be off-limits to bottom-trawlers.
<p>Using post-Brexit powers to protect marine life, the Marine Management Organization will consult on proposed bylaws to prohibit vessels from engaging in bottom trawling in four of England's Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/02/big-day-for-uk-seas-as-bottom-trawling-ban-in-four-protected-areas-proposed" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported. The consultation runs through March 28, 2021, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-55894608" target="_blank">BBC</a> reported.</p><p>This highly destructive form of fishing involves dragging weighted nets along the seabed in search of scallops, sand eels, sole, cod, crab and other bottom-dwelling animals, reported BBC. Trawling is particularly damaging to bottom ecosystems because it bulldozes sensitive corals, invertebrates and animals, catching them or running them over in search of target fish species.</p><p>According to <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/manage-global-trawling-impact-think-local" target="_blank">NOAA</a>, bottom trawling accounts for roughly one-quarter of global marine fisheries landings. The fishing method has the potential to temporarily or permanently alter seafloor habitats, and these consequences can cascade through the entire ecosystem, the report found. NOAA noted that the disturbances can be physical and chemical and reduce the abundance, diversity and productivity of life on the ocean bottom.</p><p>"These changes in turn can affect the commercially important fish, and fishing communities, that are supported by the ecosystem," NOAA found.</p>
<p>The four areas under consultation include Dogger Bank Special Area of Conservation, Canyons Marine Conservation Zone, South Dorset Marine Conservation Zone and Inner Dowsing, Race Bank and North Ridge Special Area of Conservation. The protected areas will cover 14,000 sq km, reported <a href="http://divemagazine.co.uk/eco/9269-bottom-trawling-ban-proposed-uk-mpas" target="_blank">Dive Magazine</a>. While currently protected as MPAs, a lack of enforcement and policing has led to overfishing in all four, reported <a href="https://www.oceanographicmagazine.com/news/blue-belt-bottom-trawling/" target="_blank">Oceanographic</a>.</p><p>Under the proposed bylaws, the UK government will completely ban trawling at two sites and partially stop it at the other two, reported BBC. Dredging, another destructive fishing technique, will also be prohibited at the first two sites.</p><p>Dr Jean-Luc Solandt, a specialist in MPAs at the Marine Conservation Society, said, "It is a really big day for Britain's seas, where bottom trawling has degraded the environment for 100 years. It's the start of us having a pride in our seas again and it makes my job worthwhile," The Guardian reported.</p><p>The move is the latest UK effort to establish a "blue belt" of MPAs around its seas. So far, the UK's policies protect 38 percent of its waters, Environment Secretary George Eustice told Dive Magazine.</p>
<p>"Now that we have left the [EU's] common fisheries policy, we are able to deliver on our commitment to achieve a healthy, thriving and sustainable marine environment," Eustice added.</p><p>The fishing lobby has been critical of the move, calling the proposals a sledgehammer to an industry already suffering from post-Brexit export delays of fish and shellfish, The Guardian reported.</p><p>Supporters say the action is long overdue and hope it will help these once-vibrant areas recover. Still, they emphasize that more action is needed, and soon.</p><p>A 2021 report by the <a href="https://www.mcsuk.org/news/marine-unprotected-areas" target="_blank">Marine Conservation Society (MCS)</a> called Marine unProtected Areas found that bottom trawling takes place in 98 percent of the UK's offshore MPAs. MCS likened trawling in a protected area to "bulldozing a national park." As a result, the organization has called for a ban on bottom trawling in all protected areas.</p><p>"Action in these four sites is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the scale needed to solve the crisis facing our oceans," Chris Thorne, an oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK, told The Guardian. "This process shows that the government is prepared to use its new Brexit powers to properly protect our seas."</p><p>However, "If the government chooses to follow this consultation approach for a handful of marine protected areas at a time, it will be many years before the entire network is properly protected. Our oceans can't wait that long," Thorne cautioned.</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Ground-Breaking Agreement Marks First Voluntarily Limits to ... ›
- Trawl Fishery Measures Show the Value of Cooperation - EcoWatch ›
- 5 Recent Victories for the Oceans - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less