Hello, people of the world! Welcome back to Climate Change With Tech! In case you’re new, I'm alunissage and I’ll be posting this week! Hopefully you’ve had the chance to look at both mine and Robotics Girl’s previous posts about the different types of renewable energies and how they’re used-if not, it would mean a lot to us if you did! Anyways, this week we’ll be moving on from renewable energy sources to the marine biosphere! So let’s get started- what is the marine biosphere, how is it affected by climate change, and what actions are being made to prevent the decline of it?
First up, what exactly is the marine biosphere? Well, according to Frontiers, a leading company for science-related research, the marine biosphere is the largest microbial habitat in the world. It’s simply the living parts of the ocean- from algae to killer whales, anything that is alive is part of the marine biosphere. Now, how are the animals in the marine biosphere affected by climate change? Well, for starters, most of us have probably heard of coral bleaching, where, because of multiple stressors, the coral in the ocean has been dying out, leaving a huge impact on the ecosystem as a result. Ocean acidification, which is caused by around a third of overall CO2 emissions getting dissolved into the water, plays a huge part in the decline of many ecosystems. You may be wondering, how does the decline of coral make such a huge impact? Well, 25 percent of animals in the ocean depend on healthy coral to survive. Also, a coral reef has one of the most diverse populations in the world! For example, the Northwest Hawaiian Island coral reefs are home to over 7,000 different species. Coral reefs don’t only affect animals in the water, either! Corals protect communities above the land from storms and erosion, and over half of a million people depend on coral reefs for food income and protection. Even though coral dying out might not seem like a huge deal to some, it is, and more coral dying out might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. But coral isn’t the only species that is being affected by climate change, either! Ocean acidification lowers the pH levels of the water, which complicates the situation for countless species. Less pH affects the carbon cycle (how carbon cycles around the earth, and how carbon affects aspects of life) which reduces the carbonate ions that are used by corals, mollusks and crustaceans to build shells. The carbon cycle is crucial to life as we know it. Not only that, but the change in pH levels also affects the Nitrogen cycle, slowing the cycle exponentially. The particular step that is slowed down is nitrification, where micro-organisms change ammonium, a form of nitrogen, into nitrate, a different form of nitrogen. Nitrate is crucial to the survival of organisms in the marine biosphere, because plants and other microorganisms in the marine ecosystems require it. Overall, the effects that climate change is having on the marine ecosystem has the potential to be catastrophic, and is a problem that needs to be solved as soon as possible!
Next, let’s move onto the positive- what actions are being made to combat the decline of the marine biosphere? Well, a popular way that scientists are using to recover coral is restoring the coral reef, by growing coral in a nursery, which is where small pieces of coral are grown on an underwater structure until they’re replanted on existing coral reefs. Using this method, coral can grow at a much higher pace than if they were regrown in the wild, where they need to battle stressors along with regrowing. Another way that people have been fighting the decline of population numbers in the marine biosphere is by removing trash from the ocean. There are tons of organizations that strive to remove plastic and litter from the ocean, like the Surfrider Foundation, Oceana, and of course, #TeamSeas. There are so many ways that people are helping save our ocean, and all of the marine creatures in it!
And finally, here are some ways you can help our environment in your everyday life!
Recycle! You can recycle plastic bottles and bags that include the little recycle sign
You can volunteer to help with local clean-ups!
You can help us spread the word- make people aware of what climate change is and how bad it is!
Use less disposable plastics
Try walking or riding a bike to short distances instead of a car
Plant things! It’s a fun hobby and also helps the planet a lot!
You can buy local and organic produce
Thank you all for taking time to read this!
Till next time!
alunissage.
Works Cited
US Department of Commerce, N. O. and A. A. (2018, May 10). Hope for corals. Growing Species Resilience in Coral Nurseries. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ocean/corals/hope-for-corals.html
Cario, A., Oliver, G. C., & Rogers, K. L. (1AD, January 1). Exploring the deep marine biosphere: Challenges, innovations, and opportunities. Frontiers. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2019.00225/full
US Department of Commerce, N. O. and A. A. (2019, April 2). What is the carbon cycle? NOAA's National Ocean Service. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/carbon-cycle.html#transcript
5 incredible organizations that are making the world's Oceans Cleaner. Goodnet. (2021, July 12). Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.goodnet.org/articles/5-incredible-organizations-that-are-making-worlds-oceans-cleaner
Orcutt, M. (2010, December 20). Ocean acidification may disrupt the marine nitrogen cycle. Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/ocean-acidification-may-disrupt-the-marine-nitrogen-cycle/
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