Offshore Solar’s Post

Why Ocean conservation is important? Many people believe that trees are the primary source of oxygen on Earth, but this is a common misconception. In reality, the oceans are responsible for producing more oxygen than all the trees combined. This vital role is played by tiny photosynthetic organisms known as phytoplankton, which include algae and some bacteria. These microscopic organisms float near the ocean's surface and use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into energy, releasing oxygen as a byproduct. One of the most remarkable contributors is Prochlorococcus, the smallest photosynthetic organism on Earth. Despite its size, Prochlorococcus is incredibly efficient and is estimated to contribute up to 20% of the oxygen in our entire biosphere. This is more than the oxygen produced by all the tropical rainforests combined. Overall, scientists estimate that 50-80% of the oxygen production on Earth comes from the ocean. Understanding the crucial role of phytoplankton in oxygen production highlights the importance of protecting our oceans. These tiny organisms are not only essential for marine life but also for maintaining the balance of our planet's atmosphere, making them indispensable to life on Earth. Text credit: Earth Unreal #haql #ksa #Trojena

In what is described as an astonishing breakthrough, scientists have discovered the world's oldest, inhabited termite mounds along the Buffels River in Namaqualand. Dating back 34,000 years, these mounds are transforming our understanding of prehistoric life, climate, and carbon storage. Termite mounds, also known as "heuweltjies," offer a glimpse into our planet's ancient past and play a significant role in the carbon cycle, despite being poorly understood. Though, there has been debate around the origins of heuweltjies.Von Holdt et al. (2022) provide compelling evidence that these mounds are formed by hydrological processes influenced by vegetation patterning. Overall, these findings present a valuable opportunity for scientists to explore the role of termites in carbon sequestration and gain a better understanding of how to combat climate change. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ec6MV9gt

New research highlights how longer-lasting ozone depletion over #Antarctica increases the exposure of plants and animals to UV rays. The paper, led by SAEF Deputy Director, Distinguished Professor Sharon Robinson AM from the University of Wollongong, was published in Global Change Biology. Ozone depletion over Antarctica typically peaks in September and October when most land-based plants and animals are dormant and protected under snow cover, while most marine life is protected by sea ice. Recently, ozone depletion has lasted through to December, when many Antarctic plants and animals are emerging. This increased exposure to UV rays poses a range of risks, including: 👀 Eye damage in penguins 🌱 Less growth in moss, due to spending more energy producing sunscreen 🦐 Changes to phytoplankton and krill ecosystems, the basis of the Antarctic food web While the Montreal Protocol has been successful in phasing out ozone-depleting substances, numerous factors still delay recovery. These include increased intensity of bushfires, major volcanic eruptions, and a range of other human activities. Professor Robinson says: “The biggest thing we can do to help Antarctica is to act on climate change – reduce carbon emissions as quickly as possible so we have fewer bushfires and don’t put additional pressure on ozone layer recovery.” Read the paper: ➡ Global Change Biology | https://lnkd.in/gTAMu8tK ➡ The Conversation | https://lnkd.in/ggHPBsVG ➡ SAEF | https://lnkd.in/gd2mbVxK #Antarctica #ozone #MontrealProtocol #research #science #UV #UVprotection #UVrays

Plankton. Silly me. I thought it would be a nice, relaxing, Big-Nature-drifting-on-the-surface-of-a-gentle-sea sort of story, with the occasional whale feast… I should have known better. I *know* better. The itty bitties alwaya control the game. No plankton, now whale feast. Or, more the point as Carol Robinson from University of East Anglia notes, “If we lost plankton, we wouldn’t have the same planet we have today.” Indeed without plankton, who have been pumping oxygen into the air for nearly 2.5 billion years, we wouldn’t be here at all. They may also provide a key clue to the acceleraton in global warming that has knocked 2024 sideways with extreme weather. In addition to GHGs and El Nińo, it turns out wee little plankton play VERY BIG role sequestering / respiring CO2. The basics, sans nuance: • phytoplankton absorb CO2 through photosynthesis • zooplankton eat them • carbon-rich zooplanton poop sinks to the depths as “marine snow,” effectively keeping it out the atmosphere for centuries (bacteria and other nibble away it respiring CO2, sending it back up) • zooplankton, which include the larval forms of all manner of shellfish, vertically migrate on a daily basis to feed on the surface then evade predators by going deep. They take their carbon it them. They, too, poop, and also molt, giving marine snow a head start to the depths. They also respire, but the CO2 is hundreds of meters deep. It used to be for every 100 billion tons of CO2 sequestered, 98 billion tons was respired. A warmer, more acidic ocean messes with that. The calcium carbonate shells on zooplankton are thinner so they can’t go as deep as they used to, which means the respired CO2 isn’t quite as buried. Marine heat waves aren’t doing anybody any good. It stratefies the water column, changing the availability of nutrients, with loads of trophic cascades. Phytoplankton native to sea ice don’t like the heat / melt. Less food for krill, etc.. Which means less CO2 sequestered. Meanwhile, plankton populations are shifting to find suitable temperatures, with their fishy predators following, with devastating impacts on historic fisheries… #marinebiology #climate #marineheatwave #fisheries #food https://lnkd.in/guh-tKB2

Source: (Communications biology) Coral bleaching in the Mesoamerican Reef, driven by climate change and heat stress, peaked in 2017. A study (2015-2017) identified 23 metrics predicting 75% of bleaching severity, revealing that thermal patterns outperformed traditional indices. Deeper reefs showed increased vulnerability. The research offers a framework for assessing bleaching risk, integrating accessible data for better conservation and management.

🌊 Human activities are playing havoc with the natural balance of oxygen in our oceans. Warming of the seas and an excess of nutrients can accelerate the occurrence of blooms of - often toxic - algae, which ultimately remove oxygen from seawater. 🗣 This phenomenon, termed 'eutrophication', is the focus of a #LyellCentre public lecture by expert in Earth and marine sciences at Radboud University, Professor Caroline Slomp, taking place at Heriot-Watt University next week (1 May). 🌍 In her talk 'Coastal dead zones - is it too late to turn the tide?', Professor Slomp will outline the factors that are driving low oxygen in the sea and explain the key biogeochemical processes sustaining low oxygen in coastal waters that can be considered in planning a road to recovery. 📰 Find out more and book tickets via our news site: https://lnkd.in/eNDKv9vT #EarthDay2024 #EarthDay #TheLyellCentre #research #events #KnowledgeExchange #collaboration #partnerships #GlobalResearch #GlobalImpact British Geological Survey #HeriotWatt

ACID RAIN The fossils that are burned by humans for energy usually come back to them in the form of acid rain. Acid rain is a form of precipitation which has high sulfuric and nitric acids which can occur in the form of a fog or snow. Acid rain has numerous ecological impacts on streams, lakes, wetlands and other aquatic environments. It damages forests, robs the soil of its essential nutrients, releases aluminium to the soil, which makes it very hard for trees to absorb water.[168] Researchers have discovered that kelp, eelgrass and other vegetation can effectively absorb carbon dioxide and hence reducing ocean acidity. Scientists, therefore, say that growing these plants could help in mitigating the damaging effects of acidification on marine life.

Researchers Say A Massive Deadly Zone in the Ocean is Growing: It creates conditions so acidic that it dissolves shells and skeletons, and it could make up half of the global ocean by the end of the century. The deep ocean harbors an expanding acidic zone where high pressure and low temperature create conditions that dissolve calcium carbonate, a crucial material for marine animals' shells. This area, which is known as the carbonate compensation depth (or CCD), is growing due to rising carbon dioxide levels in the ocean, which is making the water more acidic. This phenomenon, coupled with ocean acidification at the surface, is shrinking the habitable space for marine life from both the top and the bottom, making it difficult for creatures to survive under such harsh acidic conditions. Recent studies have revealed that the CCD serves as a biological boundary, creating distinct habitats above and below it. Above the CCD, organisms with calcified shells or skeletons like soft corals, brittle stars, and mussels, thrive, while below it, sea anemones, sea cucumbers, and octopuses are more abundant. The under-saturated, more acidic habitat below the CCD currently limits life in 54.4 million square miles of the ocean and could expand by another 13.5 million square miles with a 980-foot rise. The expansion of this acidic zone will have varying impacts on different regions and countries, with island nations being the most affected. It's remarkable that nearly half of the deep sea is already acidic, and this proportion could increase to half by the end of the century. The rising acidity of our oceans serves as a stark reminder of the pressing need to combat climate change and its devastating impact on marine ecosystems.

As waterbodies lose oxygen, are we breaching a potential planetary boundary? Elizabeth Claire Alberts, Glenn Scherer 13 Aug 2024 A new perspective piece argues that aquatic deoxygenation — the depletion of oxygen in marine and freshwater environments — should be considered its own “boundary” in the planetary boundary framework first proposed by scientists in 2009. Human-caused nitrogen pollution and climate change have greatly worsened aquatic deoxygenation worldwide. The planetary boundary framework defines nine natural biophysical and biochemical system processes that maintain the resilience of the Earth system, allowing life to thrive. But each boundary includes limits within which humanity needs to safely operate. The paper’s lead author says that increased scientific understanding of dissolved oxygen in marine and freshwater environments shows that it regulates, and is regulated by many of the other planetary processes, which in turn warrants the inclusion of aquatic deoxygenation in the planetary boundary framework. The framework is a rapidly evolving theory. Whether aquatic deoxygenation is already indirectly taken into account by the existing framework, as some argue, or whether it should be considered as its own planetary boundary remains to be determined. #hypoxia #nutrients #eutrophication #aquatic #deoxygenation #climatechange https://lnkd.in/gktnNrWk