Originally published November 4 2005
Swiss study finds global warming threatens marine life
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Bern University's Climate and Environmental Physics department studied carbon dioxide emissions in the Southern Ocean, and their findings indicate that coral and plankton, both basic to the life cycles of so many marine animals and ecosystems, are severely jeopardized by these emissions, much more so than was previously recognized.
Scientists from Bern University's Climate and Environmental Physics department took part in the international project.
They found that the resulting increased acidity in these waters dissolves calcium carbonates that corals and plankton use to make protective external skeletons, according to research scientist Gian-Kasper Plattner.
The tiny plankton are an essential part of the ocean food chain, forming the basic diet of many fish and whales.
"CO2 has a tremendous impact on the chemical state of the ocean, and this in turn could have a damaging impact on the ecosystem," Plattner told swissinfo.
"This might have serious consequences not just for these little creatures, but also on creatures that are important to us, such as fish and whales."
Similar experiments carried out in warmer seas projected that corals and plankton would not be seriously affected for centuries.
But as colder waters contain less calcium carbonates than warmer areas, the new Ocean Carbonate Cycle Inter-Comparison Project (OCMIP) results indicate that there could be severe consequences for these organisms within 50-100 years.
Plattner, who took part in the study along with Bern University colleague Fortunat Joos, said the findings sent out a renewed warning for the world to reduce CO2 emissions.
He added that levels of the gas in the atmosphere are now so high that it would still take more than a generation for the planet to recover, even if further emissions were to be cut immediately.
"It is obvious that climate change has an extremely damaging effect on marine life," Adrian Stiefel of WWF Switzerland told the Swiss tabloid newspaper Blick.
Previously it was believed that the oceans manage to absorb about a quarter of the global CO2 emissions.
The gas, which remains in the atmosphere, leads to the phenomenon known as global warming.
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