The paper, New studies deepen concerns about a climate-change ‘wild card’ by Joby Warrick discusses how new studies could indicate the slowing or complete shut-down of the Atlantic ocean’s currents. Because of the massive area that water possesses on Earth (Around 70%), the world’s oceans are detrimental to the survival of not only human beings, but all life. Research was conducted by several teams of scientists who studied how the rapid melting of Arctic ice could impact the Atlantic ocean. Important tools like computers and modeling were used in order to estimate and predict how the Atlantic ocean could respond to slowing or completely halted currents (Coasta and Rucker, n.d).
When fresh water from the Artic ice melts and flows into the ocean, it floats ontop of the salt water because it’s not as dense. This cold, fresh water interrupts the natural flow of the ocean currents – such as the Gulf Stream – and drops temperatures to the point where damage to ecosystems and life can occur.
One of the biggest challenges in predicting oceanic changes and the shift in ocean currents is the fact that they take such a long time to occur. Sometimes changes in currents and temperature won’t be apparent for decades or more even though the event that caused them happened a long time ago.
A paper describing what happened 120,000 years ago when, during the last ice age, rapidly melting ice from glaciers increased the level of rising seas around the world. Because of the cold fresh water laying ontop, the northern hemisphere cooled and froze over. In Greenland, there was an astonishing 18 degree temperature drop in an estimated 10 years. This particular period is referred to as scientists as the Younger Dryas Period. In other parts of the world, however, temperature changes were different. Records of extreme droughts occurred in the southern areas of the globe, as well as other strange weather patterns such as fluctuating temperatures and acid rain.
An important book written on the subject is highlighted in this article. It’s called “Overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Overshoot.” Some of the themes it addresses include consumption, fossil fuels, and materialism. The book is written by The Population Media Center.
One of the most important fish in the Atlantic Ocean is the Atlantic Cod. It relies on certain parts of the Atlantic Ocean in order to feed, breed, and grow. Sensitive to temperature changes, it is expected that the Atlantic Cod in the Celtic and Irish seas will vanish entirely. Atlantic Cod in other areas, such as the southern North Sea, will rapidly decline. Due to the cod’s need for colder temperatures, they will likely begin to migrate northwards in search of cooler water. Even important spawning areas will be pushed northwards as temperatures grow warmer in the south and colder in the north. For the Atlantic Cod fisheries, this means that a massive decline in financial revenue is predicted within the next five to ten years (Drinkwater, 2005, p. 1330).
There is also the likelihood that, if sea ice continues to decline and temperatures continue to increase, migration paths for the Atlantic Cod will no longer be used; there will be no need for them to migrate. If food (Such as plankton and small fish species) remains in the area, production increased by warmth, that the speed the Atlantic Cod grow would be increased. However, because all of this is speculated and can’t truly be proven, the predictions of what will happen to Atlantic Cod stocks due to global warming is uncertain.
As for other organisms that rely on the Atlantic Ocean for survival, it can only be speculated that results of a warming ocean would be variable. Species normally found in tropical temperatures would have the potential to migrate up the north eastern coast of the United States, perhaps even as far up as Canada. Other species more reliant on colder waters would likely travel northward in search of cooler temperatures. Their survival would depend on a number of variables from how food sources would respond to how quickly the temperatures changed. It would also depend on what predator species made their way northward and how native species would respond to the invaders from the south.
In conclusion, there is no doubt that the world around us is changing. The planet Earth is adjusting to immense human impacts. With so many chemicals evaporating into the atmosphere and so much air pollution effecting the ocean, predicting what will happen is impossible. The only useful models available are those from the last ice age, which no human experienced. Since the calculations are all estimates, the predictive models of climate change and the warming of the ocean are based around theory, not fact. Joby Warrick’s article, in short, speaks of how, even though the Earth is changing due to human negligence, there is still a chance that some of the more destructive processes (Such as more powerful storms and climate change) can be reversed.
References
Costa, R., & Rucker, P. (n.d.). The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines. Retrieved March 01, 2016, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Drinkwater, K. (2005). The response of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) to future climate change. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 62(7), 1327-1337.
