Microscopic life crucial to the marine food chain is dying out. Consequences could be catastrophic

from the Independent UK:




The dead sea: Global warming blamed for 40 per cent decline in the ocean's phytoplankton
Microscopic life crucial to the marine food chain is dying out. The consequences could be catastrophic

By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Thursday, 29 July 2010



The microscopic plants that support all life in the oceans are dying off at a dramatic rate, according to a study that has documented for the first time a disturbing and unprecedented change at the base of the marine food web.

Scientists have discovered that the phytoplankton
of the oceans has declined by about 40 per cent over the past century, with much of the loss occurring since the 1950s. They believe the change is linked with rising sea temperatures and global warming.

If the findings are confirmed by further studies it will represent the single biggest change to the global biosphere in modern times, even bigger than the destruction of the tropical rainforests and coral reefs
, the scientists said yesterday.

Phytoplankton are microscopic marine organisms capable of photosynthesis, just like terrestrial plants. They float in the upper layers of the oceans, provide much of the oxygen we breathe and account for about half of the total organic matter on Earth. A 40 per cent decline would represent a massive change to the global biosphere.

"If this holds up, something really serious is underway and has been underway for decades. I've been trying to think of a biological change that's bigger than this and I can't think of one," said marine biologist Boris Worm of Canada's Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He said: "If real, it means that the marine ecosystem today looks very different to what it was a few decades ago and a lot of this change is happening way out in the open, blue ocean where we cannot see it. I'm concerned about this finding." ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/the-dead-sea-global-warming-blamed-for-40-per-cent-decline-in-the-oceans-phytoplankton-2038074.html

of every issues list. If we don't have the oxygen to survive, then what do any other the others matter? All life on this earth is connected. We aren't separate from nature, no matter how much we try to insulate ourselves in artificial environments. Biodiversity, healthy oceans, forests, clean air and water-these are among the most crucial issues facing us today, yet politicians almost never speak about them, nor do they come up among most Democrats top ten lists. We MUST change this; it won't be "future generations" who will suffer, it will be ours, and soon.

So, when the oil spill was happening i looked up phytoplankton, because I thought that the amount of them lost in the GULF could have wider-spread effects on the oceans as a whole...

And, now they've realized that they are dying off just out in the open ocean...great.

ya, oxygen is kind of important to us, isn't it?
Perhaps we should all learn how to breathe like the tibetans or peruvians...?

I wonder how fast the biosphere will shift if the o2 levels drop far enough?

"Dr Worm said. "Phytoplankton are a critical part of our planetary life support system. They produce half of the oxygen we breathe"

Huh?

If the Phytoplankton has decreased by 40% and they provide 50% of the O2 we breath, why did the level of O2 remain the same?

from Nature to mankind. nt