Mass extinction in the ocean?

[wacki]

http://www.physorg.com/news11008.html

Increased carbon dioxide emissions are rapidly making the world's oceans more acidic and, if unabated, could cause a mass extinction of marine life similar to one that occurred 65 million years ago when the dinosaurs disappeared. Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology will present this research at the AGU/ASLO Ocean Sciences meeting in Honolulu, HI on Monday, Feb 20.

Interesting.....

I love the gloom and doom. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Rduke55]

I thought the ocean had a pretty good buffering system.

[CORed]

[ QUOTE ]
I thought the ocean had a pretty good buffering system.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. It is the contention of this particular scientist that anthropogenic CO2 will overwhelm that buffering system. Wheter he is correct or not I don't know.

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
I thought the ocean had a pretty good buffering system.

[/ QUOTE ]

So did I. However the salinity of the ocean is changing to the point that the thermohaline belt looks as if it might fail. Which would send europe into an ice-age. Also, there is a 90% reduction in large ocean fish since 1960 levels.

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8398

Only time will tell I guess. Will there be a mass extinction? I don't know. Am I upset about this? Not really.

-Timon

[Prodigy54321]

Nothing entertains me more than seeing those rainbow colored deep sea creatures light up. /images/graemlins/frown.gif I blame BUSH /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Go Blue]

Wow this is quite a coincidence. I was just learning about this very same topic earlier today. According to what I have here, the ocean does indeed have a buffering system but when this same thing happened 65 millions years ago, it took at least a couple hundred thousand years for the ocean to (nearly) completely recover.

[Phil153]

Thanks, interesting article.

The 90% reduction in large fish numbers is due to fishing isn't it? I remember reading something about that a long time ago.

[Zeno]

[ QUOTE ]

Only time will tell I guess. Will there be a mass extinction? I don't know. Am I upset about this? Not really.

-Timon

[/ QUOTE ]

/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The proper perspective is refreshing isn't it?


No worries. We just need to promote extra growth of all the bivalves in the oceans through genetic engineering and by other measures. Henry's Law will then solve all the problems. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

Bivalves are Cool (http://www.paleoportal.org/fossil_gallery/taxon.php?taxon_id=62)


Le Misanthrope

[Hobbs.]

[ QUOTE ]
http://www.physorg.com/news11008.html

Increased carbon dioxide emissions are rapidly making the world's oceans more acidic and, if unabated, could cause a mass extinction of marine life similar to one that occurred 65 million years ago when the dinosaurs disappeared. Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology will present this research at the AGU/ASLO Ocean Sciences meeting in Honolulu, HI on Monday, Feb 20.

Interesting.....

I love the gloom and doom. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
this article is full of holes. I'd like to actually see some references to the journals.

[Hobbs.]

here is a JGR reference

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 110 (C9): Art. No. C09S04 SEP 21 2005

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]

this article is full of holes.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your arguments are iron-clad and irrefutable. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Pete H]

[ QUOTE ]
The 90% reduction in large fish numbers is due to fishing isn't it? I remember reading something about that a long time ago.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. Large fish are mostly gone 'cos of overfishing.

http://www.zeroimpactproductions.com/newfiles/overfishing1.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/12/1201_051201_overfishing_2.html

Most coral reefs are also expected to vanish in 50-100 years.

http://www.globalissues.org/EnvIssues/Biodiversity/CoralReefs.asp

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june05/coral_2-01.html

NP: Candlemass - Solitude