Explaining Ocean Warming: Causes, scale, effects and consequences

Abstract

Ocean warming may well turn out to be the greatest hidden challenge of our generation. Whilst some may be aware of the challenges a warming ocean presents to coral reefs, few know about the other consequences this holds for the ocean. Ocean acidification emerged as a new story around 2004, with problems already being encountered due to changes in ocean chemistry, and yet add ocean warming and there is a far bigger story to tell. In this report, we assess the scale of the challenge and explore this issue from a range of different perspectives – oceanography, ecosystems and species. We also look at the impacts ocean warming might have on the every-day benefits we derive from the ocean – its ‘goods and services’. This is a very timely report. We know the ocean is warming. Until very recently, the debate on climate change has focused on specific themes such as land surface temperatures, melting ice caps in Greenland and Polar Regions, and shrinking glaciers in mountain ranges. It has only occasionally mentioned the ocean. When the ocean was included, the issues discussed generally related to dramatic changes to coral reefs, as we have seen in 2016 when water temperature rises turning beautifully-coloured reefs a ghostly white from bleaching.