Dying Oceans

Introduction

A team of scientists have predicted large-scale extinction events if the global ocean oxygen keeps depleting at the current rate. Dead zones are areas low in oxygen content where higher forms of life like fish, crabs and clams cannot survive. Projections made by the team of Danish researchers showed that unchecked global warming would lead to a dramatic expansion of dead zones in the global ocean by a factor of 10 or more. Published in the January 2009 issue of Nature Geoscience, the findings go on to say that these dead zones will invade the deep ocean leading to mass extinctions. For example, off the western coasts of the US and South America, it would lead to severe fish and shellfish deaths.

Source

Down To Earth, February 2009