Climate Change and Marine Biodiversity

Heat Storage and Transport 

The ocean stores most of the sun’s energy that reaches the Earth and acts as the Earth’s most significant global heat buffer. The ocean also acts as a giant heat distribution unit, pumping massive amounts of warm water and air toward the poles and cold water and air back to the tropics. Instabilities in the ocean currents caused by climate change could lead to major shifts in regional climate and weather patterns and associated human migrations in the future.  

Gas Storage and Exchange

The enormous volume of the ocean allows it to act as a giant reservoir for carbon, soaking up carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The ocean acts as a buffer for Earth’s climate. The oceanic uptake of CO2 has somewhat mitigated the effect of global warming by reducing its concentration in the atmosphere. However, this continual absorption of CO2 changes the ocean in ways that have potentially dangerous consequences for humans and for marine biodiversity. 

Sea Ice

Sea ice also affects climate. When sunlight hits ice most of its energy is reflected away from the Earth. When sea ice melts, the ocean absorbs the sun’s energy. As the Arctic warms, sea ice cover shrinks and darker open water replaces the sea ice, thus creating a feedback loop that amplifies warming and increases ice melting. 

Source for Hydrologic Cycle

The ocean plays a major role in wind and precipitation patterns. Cloud formation (evaporation), cloud movement (wind), and rain/snow (condensation) are all linked to the ocean. Weather systems, such as the monsoon in South Asia, are a direct result of the interaction between the ocean and continental masses. Water vapor that evaporates over the ocean moves over land and falls as precipitation because of ocean circulation patterns and the differential absorption of heat by the ocean and by land or air.