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Land surface temperatures have increased faster than ocean temperatures as the ocean absorbs about 92% of excess heat generated by climate change. [10] Chart with data from NASA [11] showing how land and sea surface air temperatures have changed vs a pre-industrial baseline.
Human activities affect marine life and marine habitats through overfishing, habitat loss, the introduction of invasive species, ocean pollution, ocean acidification and ocean warming. These impact marine ecosystems and food webs and may result in consequences as yet unrecognised for the biodiversity and continuation of marine life forms. [3]
While marine pollution can be obvious, as with the marine debris shown above, it is often the pollutants that cannot be seen that cause most harm.. Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial, agricultural and residential waste, particles, noise, excess carbon dioxide or invasive organisms enter the ocean and cause harmful effects there.
Some climate change effects: wildfire caused by heat and dryness, bleached coral caused by ocean acidification and heating, environmental migration caused by desertification, and coastal flooding caused by storms and sea level rise. Effects of climate change are well documented and growing for Earth's natural environment and human societies. Changes to the climate system include an overall ...
The oceans end up taking up chemicals, but also the small pieces of plastic that were not fully broken down. This causes dirty marine water and affects the ecosystems living in the oceans. [155] The incineration of plastic products pushes black carbon into the air. [156] Black carbon comes from emissions and is a lead contributor to climate ...
Disease is a serious threat to many coral species. The diseases of coral may consist of bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic infections. Due to stressors like climate change and pollution, coral can become more vulnerable to diseases. Some examples of coral disease are Vibrio, white syndrome, white band, rapid wasting disease, and many more. [84]
A related phenomenon driven by climate change is woody plant encroachment, affecting up to 500 million hectares globally. [218] Climate change has contributed to the expansion of drier climate zones, such as the expansion of deserts in the subtropics. [219] The size and speed of global warming is making abrupt changes in ecosystems more likely ...
[22] [23] Increased ocean temperatures and oxygen loss act concurrently with ocean acidification and constitute the "deadly trio" of climate change pressures on the marine environment. [24] The impacts of this will be most severe for coral reefs and other shelled marine organisms, [ 25 ] [ 26 ] as well as those populations that depend on the ...