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Climate Change
Climate change is a real and serious problem to the future of our Earth as we know it. Greenhouse gas emissions are having a myriad of adverse effects that not only affect the atmosphere, but are also harmful to the ocean environment. In polar regions such as the Arctic, a degree can mean the difference between ice and water. The melting of the ice itself also contributes to global warming as white ice, which reflects heat back into space, is replaced by darker ocean, which absorbs heat. This makes the ocean, and in turn the Earth, even warmer. The ocean is also a very good sink for carbon dioxide (CO2), and as more CO2 is produced by humans driving cars and heating homes, more is released into the atmosphere, and more is absorbed by the oceans. Our ocean is actually becoming more acidic due to the large amounts of CO2 it absorbs, a process called ocean acidification. This change in ocean chemistry weakens corals and other skeleton-building organisms including many species of plankton, similar to how osteoporosis weakens bones in humans. Ocean acidification and global warming are wreaking havoc on coral reefs around the world as ocean acidification weakens their coral skeletons and warmer ocean waters which causes coral bleaching, where symbiotic algae leaves their coral hosts, depriving corals of essential nutrients. Ocean acidification is also upsetting ocean ecosystems, as the organisms at the bottom of many food chains are having trouble growing and reproducing, which can have disastrous consequences on up the food chain, including affecting many important fisheries. MCBI is working on getting a better understanding ocean acidification and its implications and bringing knowledge of this crisis to political and scientific leaders as well as the general public.
Our Work on Climate Change:
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