The Global Warming Effects on Oceans

What's not so well understood are the global warming effect on oceans. Well, global warming does impact the ocean and a vast system of marine life that is now endangered by the additional carbon absorbed by the oceans. Our oceans have even changed more by global climate change than the lands. Any acidification of the ocean regresses it back to a much earlier stage in evolution. Read on to know more about global warming effects on oceans.

Weather observation by scientists has found that the mountain glaciers and snow cover decreasing in both the northern and southern hemispheres. This widespread shrinking in glaciers and ice caps has risen the sea levels considerably. A number of predictions relating to future changes in glaciers and global warming effects on oceans have already been predicted:

• Europe mountainous areas face glacier retreat
• Disappearance of glaciers in Latin America as well as changes in rain patterns
• Reductions in glacier extent and the thickness of glaciers in Polar regions
• This will drastically affect water availability for human consumption, agriculture, and energy production

Thus the ongoing global warming effects on oceans include higher sea levels due to thermal increase and melting of glaciers and ice sheets. The ocean surface will warm up leading to increased temperature stratification. There will also be other possible large-scale global warming effect on ocean life.

As the temperatures rise, water becomes less dense, which separates it from the nutrient-filled cold layer below. As this forms the basis for a chain effect, it is bound to impact all marine life that depends on these nutrients for survival. The global warming effect on ocean life will lead to

migration of organisms from one coast to another. The heat-tolerant species, like shrimp, will expand northward, while heat-intolerant species, such as clams and flounder, will move northward. This migration will lead to a new mixture of marine life, this going against the nature and its balance. If some of these organisms are not able to adapt to their new marine environment, they may die off and become extinct eventually.

The global warming effect on ocean life will be seen as changes in natural habitats, food supply as well as bring changes in ocean chemistry/acidification.

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