{"id":33382,"date":"2018-06-24T23:55:45","date_gmt":"2018-06-25T06:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcnews&p=33382"},"modified":"2023-08-04T15:54:05","modified_gmt":"2023-08-04T22:54:05","slug":"deoxygenation-of-the-ocean-affects-everyone-so-act-now","status":"publish","type":"arcnews","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/deoxygenation-of-the-ocean-affects-everyone-so-act-now","title":{"rendered":"Deoxygenation of the Ocean Affects Everyone, So Act Now"},"author":1162,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[331,15412,11022],"tags":[811,1451,841,15492,1461],"arcnews_issues":[9332],"class_list":["post-33382","arcnews","type-arcnews","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-3d","category-oceans","category-thought-leader","tag-aquaculture","tag-citizen-engagement","tag-climate-impact","tag-emus","tag-sustainability","arcnews_issues-arcnews-summer-2018","arcnews_sections-gis-people"],"acf":{"short_description":"The decline of oxygen in the ocean concerns absolutely everyone, no matter where we live.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Did you know that more than half of the oxygen we breathe comes from the ocean? This oxygen is produced in large part by the photosynthesis of billions and trillions of small plants in the ocean called phytoplankton, as well as the blending of seawater with the atmosphere right at the ocean\u2019s surface.\r\n\r\nBut the ocean is facing unprecedented pressures that are causing massive disruptions in the ecosystem and nutrient cycle of phytoplankton and countless other species\u2014the result of an extensive, commercially driven depletion of ocean wildlife; industrial-scale pollution; and other human activities. This oceanic turmoil occurs on the seafloor via trawling, dredging, drilling, and mining. It also happens in the water column with nets, long lines, fish-aggregating devices, and other techniques.\r\n\r\nFishing methods like these were introduced over the last few decades to extract marine life with unprecedented speed and scale from ecosystems that were hundreds of millions of years in the making. As a result, they are contributing to the accelerated reduction of oxygen levels in the ocean, as well as in the air and on land all around it.\r\n\r\nIndeed, overfishing of the ocean biomass has tremendous effects on the earth\u2019s climate and carbon cycle. Restoring marine life, then, could have a huge impact not just on ocean health but on life on land as well. That is why the decline of oxygen in the ocean concerns absolutely everyone, no matter where we live."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":33402,"image_position":"left","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Raising Awareness<\/h2>\r\nThere is comprehensive evidence that oxygen levels in open ocean and coastal waters have declined precipitously over the last half-century. According to a recent review article in Science<\/em> entitled \u201cDeclining oxygen in the global ocean and coastal waters,\u201d by Breitburg et al., oxygen in the ocean is currently dropping faster than can be accounted for by physics. This suggests that respiration\u2014the intake of oxygen followed by the release of carbon dioxide\u2014must be increasing. However, a good portion of this decline in oxygen may, in fact, be due to the disruption or destruction of tiny microbes in the ocean.\r\n\r\nScientists definitely need new insight into how changes in oxygen within the ocean are affecting the pathways and processes of these microbes at all depths. The extent to which the system is out of balance is becoming clear, and the pace of this change\u2014as well as how widespread the impacts are\u2014is alarming. We humans cannot afford to wait to take action.\r\n\r\nFortunately, ocean science has many integrated frameworks that combine observations, experiments, modeling, and GIS mapping from scientists, local governments, intergovernmental bodies, and business sectors. These are raising people\u2019s awareness of the pervasiveness of issues such as ocean warming and acidification, as well as the ever-increasing presence of microplastics in the water.\r\n\r\nNow, scientists need to raise awareness about how quickly the oxygen is dissipating. But such awareness must spread beyond the pages of scientific journals so it permeates all facets of society. Web maps and visualizations that are intuitive, interactive, and dynamic have the power to do this, driving the point home to a variety of audiences."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":33412,"image_position":"right","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"The Ecological Marine Units<\/a> (EMUs) digital ocean project, for example, gives anyone access to millions of observations of the oxygen dissolved in water all over the ocean. The EMUs also show each body of water\u2019s temperature; salinity; and nitrate, silicate, and phosphate concentrations\u2014the likely drivers of many marine ecosystem changes. Some major goals of this project are to support marine biodiversity conservation assessments; aid in research about the economic valuation of marine ecosystem goods and services; and contribute to studies on ocean deoxygenation, acidification, and other environmental impacts.\r\n\r\nAnother great resource for raising awareness is the Marine Conservation Institute\u2019s interactive Atlas of Marine Protection, also known as the MPAtlas<\/a>. Momentum is accelerating to designate very large marine protected areas (MPAs) throughout the ocean, and research suggests that sizable MPAs are much more cost-effective to implement and manage compared to smaller ones. Furthermore, larger MPAs generally provide better protection from activities that occur outside of them, since, even though they safeguard a great number of organisms, so many marine animals\u2014especially fish\u2014are constantly on the move across large sections of the ocean. If those organisms can find shelter and stability within large MPAs, they stand a better chance of enduring once they leave them.\r\n\r\nThese online resources will be key to generating the societal and political will to effectively manage marine habitats in ways that will ultimately reverse the declining levels of oxygen in the ocean and mitigate the serious consequences this has for ocean life and ecosystems. Additionally, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in collaboration with world experts, is coordinating the production of a comprehensive report called Ocean Deoxygenation\u2014Everyone\u2019s Problem: Causes, Impacts, Consequences and Solutions<\/em> that will further summarize the challenges and implications we face. The IUCN plans to distribute this report far and wide\u2014to government agencies, conservation organizations, citizen groups, and universities.\r\n\r\nWe must connect important discoveries about the nature of the world with public perception and current policies that shape the habitability of the earth. The global trend by countries all over the world to secure large areas of the ocean within national exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and create \u201cblue parks\u201d as safe havens for ocean life are also reasons to be optimistic, since protecting nature protects human existence.\r\n

What to Do Now<\/h2>\r\nSo what can you do to stem the tide of ocean deoxygenation? How can you connect the dots and take action to reverse some of the present destructive trends? Consider some of the following options:\r\n