We’re going back to the basics here to gain a better understanding of climate change and oceans.
Welcome to Back to the Basics! In this blog series, we’re focusing on understanding climate change. Instead of only focusing on the impacts of climate change, we’re going to take a different approach focusing on the indicators of climate change. We’ll look into proven research and I will offer a ton of resources to aid in your own understanding and the understanding of your students when it comes to climate change and temperature! I hope this series offers a helping hand in making the connection between what we are experiencing and how our actions and policies have impacted the change in climate.
Check out the first blog in this series about climate change and temperature.
This blog post is all about understanding climate change and oceans!
Earth’s Oceans
Oceans are incredibly important to our Earth and to our bodies. Not only is most of the Earth made up of water, most of our bodies are made up of water as well! It is no mistake that we are called the Blue Planet. 71% of Earth consists of water. Of that 71%, 96.5% of the water is in the oceans. Of total freshwater, over 68 percent is locked up in ice and glaciers. Another 30 percent of freshwater is in the ground (source). With such a significant portion of our earth being covered in water, it is incredibly important for us to understand how important oceans are to our lives, but also how climate change is impacting our oceans.
Water can be found as surface water (lakes, rivers, oceans, etc.) and as groundwater (aquifers). Water on earth not only collects in these surface water sources but also seeps into the ground. We rely on both surface water and groundwater for our survival.
This image by the USGS (United States Geological Survey) is an excellent depiction to understand the amount of water on Earth and the different forms of water.
In fact, In the United States in 2010, we used about 275 billion gallons of surface water per day, and about 79.3 billion gallons of groundwater per day (source)!
Questions to consider:
- How much of the Earth is water?
- How much of our bodies are made up of water?
- What are the ways we use water in our everyday lives?
- Do we drink freshwater or saltwater?
- Where do we find freshwater?
- Where do we find saltwater?
- What is brackish water?
- What important functions does water provide to the Earth?
Eco holidays that create more awareness about our waterways:
- World Wetlands Day
- International Day of Action for Rivers
- World Water Day
- World Meteorological Day
- World Aquatic Animal Day
- Earth Day
- World Oceans Day
- National Clean Beaches Week
- World Rivers Day
Related Post: 15 Uncomplicated Ways To Have An Eco Friendly Beach Day
Climate Change Indicator: Oceans
There are several key indicators identified by climate scientists showing the impacts of our rapid climate change over time. In fact, the EPA has identified over 50 indicators. In this blogging series, we will explore 6 of these indicators – temperature, oceans, greenhouse gasses, snow & ice, health & society, and ecosystems. In today’s blog post, we will explore climate change and oceans.
Oceans are important for so many reasons! Some of the benefits of oceans include climate regulation, transportation, economy, recreation, food, medicine, and even oxygen!
In fact, our oceans provide 50% of the oxygen we need. At the same time, the ocean helps to absorb about 25% of carbon dioxide emissions and 90% of the heat generated by these emissions (source).
Therefore, understanding climate and oceans is not only key to helping us make the connection between our actions and climate change but saving our oceans is key to our survival.
Let’s explore what our oceans are telling us about climate change!
Climate Change and Oceans
Warmer Oceans
As mentioned earlier, a defining characteristic of our oceans is their ability to absorb heat. The more heat the oceans have to absorb, the more sea surface temperatures increase. The graph below shows sea surface temperatures in the U.S. since the 1900s to help understand the connection between climate change and temperature:
Questions to consider:
- Which years were sea temperatures lowest? highest?
- How are sea temperatures? On the rise? on the decline? constant?
- Which two periods show the largest increases in sea surface temperature?
According to NOAA, the effects of ocean warming include sea level rise due to thermal expansion, coral bleaching, accelerated melting of Earth’s major ice sheets, intensified hurricanes, and changes to ocean health (source).
Sea Level Rise
Looking at the rise of sea level is a major indicator of the impact of climate change and oceans. Sea level rise is occurring for two reasons 1) warm water expands 2.) melting glaciers and icecaps creates more liquid water.
This graph shows climate change and oceans: sea level rise.
The impacts of sea level rise include increased flooding, erosion, more saltwater flowing into estuaries, and saltwater intrusion into aquifers. These issues can be even more extreme with more extreme storms we expect to experience because of the climate change we are experiencing.
Related Posts: 4 Water Activities That Will Make Your Kids Understand Forms of Water on Earth
Ocean Acidity
Oceans are a carbon sink. Remember we mentioned that the ocean plays an important role in absorbing carbon in the atmosphere? More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels also means high ocean carbon dioxide levels.
What doe carbon dioxide have to do with acidity? As the ocean absorbs more carbon dioxide, it lowers pH of the water, making it more acidic. According to NOAA, so ocean pH has dropped from 8.2 to 8.1 since the industrial revolution and is expected to fall another 0.3 to 0.4 pH units by the end of the century (source).
Here’s a graph to show how more CO2 (a greenhouse gas) in the atmosphere leads to a decrease in pH, or a more acidic ocean.
Questions to consider:
- Think about the pH scale. What is considered neutral? What is considered acidic? What is considered basic (alkaline)?
- What is the relationship between hydrogen ions and pH?
What conclusions can you draw from the data presented in this post?
I hope you enjoyed this blog post all about climate change and oceans!
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