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John Karcher
Dr. Lynch-Biniek
College Composition
16 November 2015

Global Warming and the Ocean

Proposed by a Swedish scientist by the name of Svante Arrhenius, the concept of global
warming was introduced in the year of 1896. Arrhenius was the first to claim that a parallel
relationship existed between burning fossil fuel and global temperature increase. A fossil fuel, by
definition, is a fuel formed over millions of years from organic matter such as plankton, plants,
and other life forms. There are five main sources of fossil fuel. They include coal, natural gas,
oil, petroleum, and finally liquefied petroleum gas (Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics.
2014). Fossil fuels contribute to global warming in the sense that when they are burned, they
release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Along with the atmosphere being disrupted, so too
have life forms on Earth, both above and below ocean surface.
Global warming has disrupted many life forms on Earth, some more than others.
Although some humans beg to differ, global warming is a real phenomenon that has been proven
and backed by scientific research. While many terrestrial species have certainly been impacted
by increases in global temperatures, the ocean, as well as its inhabitants have been hit hard as
well. Scientific research has indicated that sea levels worldwide have been rising at a rate of 0.14
inches each year since the early 1990s (National Geographic). If this trend were to continue at

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the current rate, many present day cities face the risk of one day falling below sea level. Los
Angeles as well as many Italian cities, due to their lifestyles being waterway dependent, are in
the danger zone.
Scientific developments conducted by National Geographic have led to discoveries in
contributors to these rising sea levels. Some include glacier and polar ice cap melts as well as ice
loss from West Antarctica and Greenland, according to National Geographic. Another contributor
includes the theory of thermal expansion. This theory states that when heated up, water expands.
This being said, due to increased temperatures worldwide, water will indeed expand as well as
occupy more space.
Each year, glaciers and ice caps melt naturally. As temperatures across the globe have
been increasing, so too has there been a greater than average summer melting. This has resulted
in the spring season arriving earlier than usual in some parts of the globe as well as diminished
snowfall counts. An imbalance has now been created due to the amount of water being available
for evaporation being higher than usual. As a result, not all of the water can be evaporated and
sea levels increase (National Geographic).
As sea levels continue to rise, much more will result besides greater than average floods.
Chelsea Harvey, a journalist for the science section of Business Insider, claims a list of other
potential threats that could result from an increase in ocean temperatures. The first, the risk of
drinking water becoming contaminated. Harvey argues that as sea levels grow, water will soon
start reaching areas further inland as well as seep into underground water sources, called
aquifers. Aquifers use freshwater and are accounted for as the main source of freshwater on the
planet. This is huge in the sense that saltwater in undrinkable and is now starting to get in the

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way of fresh, drinkable, underground water systems. As a result of the fresh water being
disrupted, so too will it be disrupted in times when necessary for farming.(Harvey)
As the groundwater system are being flooded with saltwater, they become saltier as a
result. This water that is derived from underground aquifers is the same water that is used for
irrigation; the water that is becoming saltier. Saltwater can kill crops.(Harvey)
As more and more saltwater pounds against our shores, a change in the chemistry of soil
has resulted. This mean that the plants and organisms that inhabit these soils will most likely
change as well. Plants especially are sensitive the each and every factor of their environment
including air temperature, the amount of access to water, and the chemical composition of the
soil. These are all factors that determine whether or not a plant can thrive in an environment. As
the salinity of the soil changes as a result of increased encounters with salt water, some plants
may die off as a result of being unable to cope with the change. (Harvey)
Increasing sea levels has resulted in an eroding of many coastlines, coastlines many
organisms call home. This will lead to a potential threat of animals like sea turtles and birds that
inhabit beaches. Sea turtles are threatened by floods in that their nests may be carried away. This
is crucial due to sea turtles being an endangered organisms and being in desperate need of any
offspring they can get. (Harvey)
An increase in sea levels is not the only way that oceans have been impacted by global
warming. One study, conducted by scientists Ramp, Delarue, Palsboll, Sears, and Hammond on
two species of whales, suggested that global warming has actually disrupted migratory patterns
in these specific species of whales. This particular study was conducted between 1984 and 2010.
The two species that were studied include fin and humpback whales. They identify as sympatric

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species, meaning that their domains, or niches, overlap. On top of this, their migratory patterns
overlap one anothers as well. That is, they did until being effected by global warming. Included
were easily identifiable whales from both species. The purpose of the study was to investigate
the temporal variation in the involvement of both species of whales in a North American feeding
ground in the Gulf of Laurence, Canada.
As years passed by throughout the study, it had become evident to researchers that the
dates of arrival to the feeding ground by each species of whale had shifted by more than 1 day
earlier each year. As the study approached the end of its term, the difference in the arrival would
have been equivalent to two weeks earlier. This resulted in a temporal niche separation, meaning
that these two species of whales that had previously migrated together began to develop separate,
independent migratory patterns. Further analysis revealed that "the trend in arrival was strongly
related to earlier ice break-up and rising sea surface temperature." These observed changes in the
natural life cycle of these whales due to ocean warming "may partly explain how whales were
able to survive a number of changes in climate over the last several million years. However, it is
questionable whether the observed rate of change in timing can be maintained. Substantial
modification to the distribution or annual life cycle of these species might be required to keep up
with the ongoing warming of our oceans (Ramp, Delarue, Palsboll, Sears, Hammond. March
2015.).
Other than leading to increased sea levels and disrupting migratory patterns among
marine species, global warming is also responsible for taking a toll on marine ecosystems in
general. Scientific research conducted by the World Wildlife Fund has indicated that climate
change across the globe has resulted on numerous obstructions in the oceans including "ocean
temperatures, the supply of nutrients, ocean chemistry, food chains, wind systems, and ocean

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currents. All of these, in turn, affect the distribution, abundance, breeding cycles and migrations
of marine plants and animals that millions of people rely on for food and income
(Holloway/WWF). An article written by Cat Holloway, journalist for the World Wildlife Fund,
examines key impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems. They include rising sea levels,
coral bleaching, more acidic oceans, altered lifestyles and locations, and finally stormy weather.
Due to rising sea levels, "the amount of light reaching offshore plants and algae depend on
photosynthesis could be reduced, while coastal habitats are already being flooded
(Holloway/WWF). Oceans are becoming more acidic due to large portions of carbon dioxide
being emitted from human activity, the burning of fossil fuels. This carbon dioxide that is emitted
is then absorbed by the ocean and, as a result becomes more acidic slowly but surely. Although
not fully documented, the results of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems are projected to be
negative. In particular, organisms that contain a shell face a threat inhabiting the sea. This is
because as the acidity of the ocean becomes higher, shells face a greater risk of being
deteriorated.
Shell based organisms are not the only ones that are in danger. Polar bears, heavily
dependent upon sea ice, are being faced with more challenges as temperature increase leads to
larger amounts of ice melts. Here, on these patches of sea ice, polar bears spend their lives and
make a living. As a result of increased ice melts, polar bears face the risk of having population
sizes shrink, retreating sea ice platforms, and food becoming scarcer.
As changes in climate continue to occur due to global warming and melt sea ice, it is
projected that two-thirds of polar bears will disappear by 2050 (U.S. Geological Survey). During
summer, in southern parts of the polar bear's domain (like the Hudson Bay, Canada), there is no
sea ice. This causes polar bears to live on land until fall comes around and the Bay once again

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freezes. It is not until this time that polar bears can again begin to hunt on ice, their normal
hunting grounds. While inhabiting land during summer, polar bears eat little to nothing due to
being out of their normal hunting grounds. During the last 20 years, the ice free period of the
Hudson Bay has seen an increase of an average of 20 days longer. This means that during the last
20 years, polar bears have had nearly three weeks less to hunt seals on their normal grounds. The
timeframe for which polar bears can hunt one of their main prey, seals, has decreased. This has
resulted in "an average bear weight drop by 15 percent, causing reproduction rates to decrease."
Global warming has also led to retreating, or shrinking, sea ice platforms. It has been shown that
remaining ice platforms are now becoming further and further away from land, making them far
harder to access. As a result, polar bears face a greater and more dangerous journey to these ice
platforms. Due to this, marine biologists have observed more cases in which bears have been
found drowned, due to "a combination of retreating ice and rougher seas (1996-2015 National
Wildlife Federation). These shrinking ice sheets do not only affect polar bears, but also their top
source of food: seals. It is projected that as a result of shrinking ice sheets, seals too will become
scarcer due to their prey, fish, roaming elsewhere due to the lack of ice. In all, polar bears are
going hungry for longer amounts of time, even to the extent where cannibalistic activity has been
recorded. Finally, polar bears were listed as an endangered species in 2008 due to "a decline in
its primary habitat: sea ice." (1996-2015 National Wildlife Federation)
Warming temperatures across the globe has also resulted in wilder, more chaotic weather.
Hurricanes and tropical storms both derive power and energy from the upper, warmer level of
oceans. While the top levels of oceans continue to increase in temperature, hurricanes and
tropical storms will have a larger supply of energy to feed off. Faster winds and heavier rains will
ensue as a result. Throughout the last 20 years, scientific research has indicated that hurricanes as

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well has tropical storms have become stronger in the Atlantic Ocean. As for the future, if climate
changes continue to occur at the present rate, heavier rainstorms and snowfall are expected to
result, leading to continually increasing force of hurricanes. This is without a doubt an inevitable
issue that must be addressed by humans due to all of the negative consequences hurricanes bring
including: floods, building and road damages, crop disasters, as well as peoples lives being put
in more danger (EPAs Climate Change Indicators (2014). August 20, 2015.).
As presented, it has become apparent that global warming has had many negative effects
on many aspects of many lives of organisms. Issues at hand include rising sea levels, disrupted
migratory patterns, altered lifestyles and locations for inhibitors of the sea, and many others. If
action is not taken by humans, the world as we know it today could certainly be a different place
in the near future.

John Karcher

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Dr. Lynch-Biniek
College Composition
19 November 2015
Works Cited
National Geographic. (October 21, 2015). Ocean Levels are Getting HigherCan We Do Anything About it? Retrieved from
http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-sea-level-rise/
(October 21 2015). Adapting to a Warmer Ocean-Seasonal Shift of Baleen
Whale Movements over Three Decades Retrieved from http://navigatorkutztown.passhe.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=101837748&site=ehost-live&scope=site
World Wildlife Fund. (October 21, 2015). Climate change impacts on the
marine environment Retrieved from
http://www.wwf.org.au/our_work/saving_the_natural_world/oceans_and_marine/mari
ne_threats/climate_change_impacts/
National Wildlife Federation. (October 22, 2015). Global Warming and Polar
Bears Retrieved from http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Threats-to-Wildlife/GlobalWarming/Effects-on-Wildlife-and-Habitat/Polar-Bears.aspx
A Students Guide to Global Climate Change. (October 22, 2015). Wilder
Weather Retrieved from
http://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/impacts/signs/weather.html