Sentences with phrase «ocean ecosystem collapse»

My impression from looking at the conference material is that it was indeed more or less what you would expect four years on from the 2001 IPCC report, with two very large exceptions: The potential collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (= 5 meter sea level rise) and ocean acidification (= partial ocean ecosystem collapse with a subsequent cascade of potential side effects that practically defy description).

In other words, if we don't deal with the problem soon, we should think about what widespread ocean ecosystem collapse will look like and mean for humanity.

Not exact matches

«If we don't rapidly transition off of fossil fuels, the resulting climate catastrophe means mass extinctions, the collapse of ocean and land ecosystems, and flooding of the world's cities and bread - basket deltas,» Hawkins said.

Among other examples of local and regional tipping points are the rapid collapse of coral reefs in the face of rising ocean acidity and the transformation of ecosystems by the extinction of a dominant species, or the introduction of a new one.

While the challenges may be greater than ever, at least now our oceans are getting some long - overdue attention; only time will tell if we took action in time to stave off a global collapse of marine ecosystems.

Such ecosystems may therefore provide a unique refuge to protect shell - forming organisms from ocean acidification and prevent the collapse of these fragile marine communities, the authors say.

Today, we need look no further than the New Jersey - size dead zone that forms each summer in the Mississippi River Delta, or the thousand - mile - wide swath of decomposing plastic in the northern Pacific Ocean to see that this «dilution» policy has helped place a once flourishing ocean ecosystem on the brink of collOcean to see that this «dilution» policy has helped place a once flourishing ocean ecosystem on the brink of collocean ecosystem on the brink of collapse.

Perhaps most importantly, overfishing, pollution, and climate change are driving a collapse of ocean ecosystems.

- our almost - total inability as a species to calculate said risks, and what that deficiency means for the rest of the list - ocean degradation and ecosystem collapse, i.e. losing the things that we rely on, as well as causing irrevocable harm to a world we can't just create anew - rising GHG levels - water quality and availability across the globe - ensuring our communications networks are sustainable, which probably falls under the wider umbrella of energy - the fact that we are still unable to provide basic food, shelter, medicine and education to billions as it is, without the additional stresses of what the future may bring

LONDON, 13 October, 2015 — Ocean ecosystems and fisheries could be at risk of collapse under the combined assault of global warming and increasingly acid seas.

«The open oceans are a major global commons and require effective international cooperation and governance,» GEO - 5's authors relate, and comprising 71 percent of the earth's surface, «the potential collapse of oceanic ecosystems requires an integrated and ecosystem - based approach to ocean governance.»

In the Arctic, the tipping points identified in the new report, published on Friday, include: growth in vegetation on tundra, which replaces reflective snow and ice with darker vegetation, thus absorbing more heat; higher releases of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from the tundra as it warms; shifts in snow distribution that warm the ocean, resulting in altered climate patterns as far away as Asia, where the monsoon could be effected; and the collapse of some key Arctic fisheries, with knock - on effects on ocean ecosystems around the globe.»

But other elements could potentially also contribute to a collapse: an accelerating extinction of animal and plant populations and species, which could lead to a loss of ecosystem services essential for human survival; land degradation and land - use change; a pole - to - pole spread of toxic compounds; ocean acidification and eutrophication (dead zones); worsening of some aspects of the epidemiological environment (factors that make human populations susceptible to infectious diseases); depletion of increasingly scarce resources [6,7], including especially groundwater, which is being overexploited in many key agricultural areas [8]; and resource wars [9].