A new study by British researchers has found a 1 degree Celsius rise in average ocean temperature just west of the Antarctic Peninsula over the last forty-odd years, which surprises scientists who thought temperatures in the Southern Ocean had warmed much more slowly -- or stayed level -- since the 1960s. Experts know that Antarctic sea ice has melted and that air temperatures have risen; this is the first clear piece of evidence that the water has likewise warmed up.
The consequences are bad for small creatures. If peak water temperatures rise by two more degrees, writes The Guardian this week, scallops may lose the ability to swim and certain molluscs may not be able to bury themselves in the seabed. They'll grow sluggish, fall victim to predators, and unbalance the food chain. The krill population -- the tiny shrimp which provide sustenance for small fish as well as whales -- in the Southern Ocean has already plummeted by 80 percent since the 1970s.
"If the warming goes on at the same rate for 50 years or 100 years then lots of populations of animals I work on, and maybe entire species, would be at risk," Lloyd Peck, a marine biologist for the British Antarctic Survey, told The Guardian. "The sea temperature is going up in a way that wasn't predicted and this makes me more worried for the marine animals. The evidence we've got and the models we've been looking at said sea temperature was not likely to change much in the Antarctic. A one-degree increase puts us into the region where the animals are pushed to one end of their biological, physiological and ecological capabilities."
Two other researchers at the British Antarctic Survey -- Michael Meredith and John King -- made the findings on ocean temperature levels. The BAS has a position statement on the complex topic of Antarctic climate change.
 |
|
