World ocean productivity declines 40% since 1950 July 2010, 10:45 AM ET HONOLULU
Modelling results of the sea-level rise under different warming
scenarios. The curve labels refer to the mean annual temperature rise
over Greenland by 3000 AD. Note that projected temperatures over
Greenland are generally greater than globally averaged temperatures (by a
factor of 1.2 to 3.1)[IPCC, 2001] - Researchers reported major declines in primary productivity in the
world oceans over the past century in Nature this year. Primary
productivity provides the primary food source for life in the oceans,
without which the major ecosystems of the oceans will collapse. Marine
biologists from Dalhousie University have
integrated data taken since
1899 measuring the amount of phytoplankton in the oceans. Primary
productivity in this decade was 40 percent below the primary
productivity measured in the 1950's. According to Paul Falkowski, an
oceanographer at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, "We're
squeezing big open-ocean fish like tuna and swordfish from both ends.
We're overfishing the oceans for sure. Now we see there is pressure
from the bottom of the food chain as well." (28 July 2010 | Nature |
doi:10.1038/news.2010.379) Scientists see dramatic drop in Arctic sea iceBy Will Dunham Mon Oct 1, 2007 7:07 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Arctic sea ice
declined this year to the lowest levels registered since satellite
assessments started in the 1970s, extending a trend fueled by
human-caused global warming, scientists said on Monday....
Sea ice last month was 39 percent below the long-term average from 1979 to 2000, the scientists said.
Meanwhile, a NASA-led
study documented a 23 percent loss during the past two winters in the
extent of the Arctic's thick, year-round sea ice cover.
MORE>
Greenhouse gas emissions hit danger mark
by Michael Perry Tue Oct 9, 2007 9:05 AM ET
SYDNEY (Reuters) - The global economic boom has accelerated greenhouse gas emissions to a dangerous threshold not expected for a decade and could potentially cause irreversible climate change, said one of Australia's leading scientists. ... the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) report will show that greenhouse gas in the atmosphere in
mid-2005 had reached about 455 parts per million of carbon dioxide
equivalent -- a level not expected for another 10 years. MORE>
UN panel issues stark climate change warning
By Jeff Mason, Sat Apr 7, 2007 2:26AM EDT
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Climate experts issued their starkest warning
yet about the impact of global warming, ranging from hunger in Africa to
a fast thaw in the Himalayas, in a report on Friday that increased
pressure on governments to act.
MORE>
World needs to axe greenhouse gases by 80 pct: report
By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent, Thu Apr 19, 2007
OSLO (Reuters) - The world will have to axe greenhouse gas emissions
by 80 percent by 2050, more deeply than planned, to have an even chance
of curbing global warming in line with European Union goals, researchers
said on Thursday.
MORE>
Scientists say Antarctic ice sheet is thinning
By Reuters, Thu Mar 29, 2007 2:52AM EDT
HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Texas-sized piece of the Antarctic ice sheet is
thinning, possibly due to global warming, and could cause the world's
oceans to rise significantly, polar ice experts said on Wednesday.
MORE>
Taku Glacier is melting
Climate change threatens world natural wonders:
By Reuters, Thu Apr 5, 2007
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Climate change threatens to destroy the Great
Barrier Reef and other natural wonders of the world if nations fail to
act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, environmental group WWF said on
Thursday.
"From turtles to tigers, from the desert of Chihuahua to the great
Amazon, all these wonders of nature are at risk from warming
temperatures," Lara Hansen, the head scientist of WWF's global climate
change program, said in a statement.
MORE>
 Sudden sea level surges threaten 1 billion
By Michael Kahn, Thu Apr 19, 2007 5:55PM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - More than 1 billion people live in
low-lying areas where a sudden surge in sea level could prove as
disastrous as the 2004 Asian tsunami, according to new research
presented on Thursday.
New mapping techniques show how much land would be lost and how many
people affected by rapid sea level rises that are often triggered by
storms and earthquakes, a U.S. Geological Survey-led team flooded New Orleans AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard, Petty Officer 2nd Class Kyle Niemi determined. Lynn Usery, who led the team, said nearly one-quarter of the world's
population lives below 100 feet above sea level -- the size of the
biggest surge during the 2004 tsunami that pulverized villages along the
Indian Ocean and killed 230,000 people.
MORE>
Study ties coral disease to warmer oceans
By Jim Loney, Tue May 8, 2007 12:25PM EDT
Warmer sea temperatures are linked to the severity of a coral
disease, according to a study on Australia's Great Barrier Reef that
offers a dire warning about global warming's potential impact on the
world's troubled reefs.
The 6-year study released on Monday tracked the relationship between
water temperature and the frequency of a coral disease called white
syndrome across more than 900 miles
of the world's largest coral reef
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