CrispyQ Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Warmer Seas Will Wipe Out Plankton, Source of Ocean Life by Steve Connor Published on Thursday, January 19, 2006 by the Independent / UK snip... The microscopic plants that underpin all life in the oceans are likely to be destroyed by global warming, a study has found. Scientists have discovered a way that the vital plankton of the oceans can be starved of nutrients as a result of the seas getting warmer. They believe the findings have catastrophic implications for the entire marine habitat, which ultimately relies on plankton at the base of the food chain. The study is also potentially devastating because it has thrown up a new "positive feedback" mechanism that could result in more carbon dioxide ending up in the atmosphere to cause a runaway greenhouse effect. Scientists led by Jef Huisman of the University of Amsterdam have calculated that global warming, which is causing the temperature of the sea surface to rise, will also interfere with the vital upward movement of nutrients from the deep sea. These nutrients, containing nitrogen, phosphorus and iron, are vital food for phytoplankton. If the supply is interrupted the plants die off, which prevents them from absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. more... Microscopic plankton comes in animal and plant forms. The plants are known as phytoplankton. They lie at the base of the marine food chain because they convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into organic carbon - food for everything else. Smaller animals such as shrimp-like krill feed on plankton and are themselves eaten by larger organisms, from small fish to the biggest whales. Without phytoplankton, the oceans would soon because marine deserts. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0119-01.htm=== Wouldn't it be ironic if our 'pinnacle of creation' conceit leads to the destruction of one of the lowest links in the food chain and reverberates back up to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Just like mad cow disease and the avain flu.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Wouldn't it be ironic if our 'pinnacle of creation' conceit leads to the destruction of one of the lowest links in the food chain and reverberates back up to us.That's exactly what will happen if we continue down the same path..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Just like mad cow disease and the avain flu....avian flu is a bit of a joke though...it's killed 70(?) people since 2003...more people die from regular flu every year. very profitable for the drug companies producing tamiflu or whatever it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 True, but for a flu with a 30%-50% mortality rate and has yet to pass from person to person it has the potential to stop being a joke very very quickly. From what I hear, there's no need to worry about us common folk lining the pockets of the drug companies because they'll never be able to make enough anyway. Hell, tamiflu hasn't even been clinically proven to be able to fight it. Funny, starting to recall some of what I read in the book "Animal Farm" during my high school years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 True, but for a flu with a 30%-50% mortality rate and has yet to pass from person to person it has the potential to stop being a joke very very quickly. ...Funny, starting to recall some of what I read in the book "Animal Farm" during my high school years animal farm was great! avian flu has the potential to be very serious (and worse than the common flu), the experts are predicting that hundreds of millions could die from it. but, i think this issue that CrispyQ brought up is more dangerous in the long run. the base of the food chain can't be replaced. and, unlike many of the other species that have been wiped out in recent years, it may be just a little more vital. i first read about this in "the next 100 years" by jonathan weiner, a book about climate change. scary stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrispyQ Posted January 25, 2006 Author Share Posted January 25, 2006 i first read about this in "the next 100 years" by jonathan weiner, a book about climate change. scary stuff. Thanks, Neil! I just ordered this book. I LOVE Amazon's used book sellers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 I agree as well.I think we're a little too cocky as species' go. We continue to rape, plunder, burn and poison the earth with total abandonment. Call me whatever you want but I think we need a good world wide disaster to wake us up from our arrogance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 i first read about this in "the next 100 years" by jonathan weiner, a book about climate change. scary stuff. Thanks, Neil! I just ordered this book. I LOVE Amazon's used book sellers!great to hear. hope you like it. and... you're welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now