Transcript Professor on Wheels - Suffolk County Community College

Jean R. Anastasia, Ph.D.
Biology Department
Suffolk County Community College
Global Change
Global Warming
Ocean Acidification
Ozone Depletion
Greenhouse Effect
Gases trap heat near the earth’s surface
•Water Vapor, Methane,
•CFCs (chloroflourocarbons),
•CO2 (carbon dioxide)
Global Warming: Impacts
Sea-level Rise
Causes of Sea Level Rise
Addition of heat
Addition of freshwater
+
Thermal Expansion
Total sea level rise
=
Melting ice caps,
mountain glaciers,
ice sheets in
Greenland and
Antarctica
Potential Contributions
Thermal Expansion:
Melting Land ice does!
Sea Ice Melt
Does NOT raise sea level
So does iceberg calving
Measuring Sea Level the Old Fashioned Way
Tide Gauge Observations
150
3.2 mm/year
Average Rate ~ 1.8 mm/year
100
2.0 mm/year
MSL (mm)
50
~ 8 inches
(20 cm)
0.8 mm/year
0
-50
-100
1880
1900
1920
1940
Year
1960
1980
2000
[Church and White, 2006]
Measuring Sea Level the Modern Way
Altimeter Record of Global Sea Level
Sea-level Rise: Locally
Equals a change of 0.80 feet in 100 years.
http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends_station.shtml?stnid=8514560
Future Sea-level Rise
 In 1997, estimates predicted that the global
average sea level will rise by 7.2 to 23.6
inches (18-59 cm or 0.18- 0.59m) by 2100
relative to 1980-1999 (IPCC 1997)
 New Research says it could be 3x as much as
predicted by the IPCC, from 1-2 m (40-80
inches) by 2100 (Vermeera and Rahmstorfb
2009)
Sea-level Rise
The red line is
measured by tide
gauges . The green
line shows sea level
change as
measured by
satellite. The
purple shaded area
represents the
range of model
projections for a
medium growth
emissions scenario
(IPCC SRES A1B).
For reference
100mm is about 4
inches. Source:
IPCC (2007)
Sea-level Rise is not even
•Currents reshape ocean surface
•Ocean warming is not even
•Winds change as planet warms
http://climate.nasa.gov/blogs/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowBlog&NewsID=239
Red areas will
flood in about
100-200 years
Blue areas may
flood over
several
centuries
http://www.epa.gov/climat
echange/effects/coastal/slr
maps_sealevelmap.html
Over the next century, sea level is most likely to rise 55-60 cm along most
of the U.S. Atlantic
Red areas would flood during spring high tides
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/effects/coastal/slrmaps_ne_liny.html
Sea Level Rise Impacts
Sea-level Rise: Impacts
Human population along the coast
http://propertybrazilestate.com/images/8/80
1.jpg
Sea-level Rise: Impacts
Flooding of coasts and increased
erosion
Island Nation of Maldives in Indian Ocean
Sea-level Rise: Impacts
Flooding of wetlands
http://science.kennesaw.edu/~jdirnber/oceanography/LecuturesOceanogr/LecSaltMar
sh/salt_marsh.jpg
Sea-level Rise: Impacts
Flooding of wetlands
http://saltmarshlife.com/image/FOOD%20WEB%20SALT%20MARSH%204.jpg
Sea-level Rise: Impacts
Impact on Coral reefs
 “Drowned reefs”
http://serc.carleton.edu/images/eslabs/cora
ls/polyp_with_zooxanthellae.jpg
http://gc.kuty.cz/redsea/coralpolyp.jpg
Global Warming: Impacts
 Coral Bleaching
 Corals loose their algae
 Associated with
warmer
temperatures
http://jroy.abenaza.com/wpcontent/uploads/2008/04/coral-bleaching1.jpg
Coral Bleaching Linked to Increased Temperatures
Fig. 14-15, p. 340
www.marinephotobank.org/photocenter/stories.php
Coral Reefs
are very
diverse
ecosystems…
Their decline
will impact
thousands of
species
http://kentsimmons.uwinnipeg.ca/16cm05/1
116/50-23b-CoralReef.jpg
Ocean Acidification
 CO2 dissolves in water to form carbonic
acid (H2CO3)
 A weak acid found in soda
 Lowers the pH
of the ocean
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/climatechange/2009/04/
Ocean Acidification
 Measured by pH scale
 Lower pH is more acidic
 A reduction of 1 pH unit means the water is 10
times more acidic
 pH of seawater is about 8.0-8.3
 pH has already dropped by 0.1 unit since
preindustrial time
 pH may fall an additional 0.3 by 2100
(Doney 2006)
Ocean Acidification: Impacts
 Lowers the amount of carbonate ions
available and reduces the ability of
organisms to make calcium carbonate
skeletons
Organisms Threatened by Increased
Marine Acidity
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
Calcium Carbonate
When there are decreases in pH, CaCO3 will be more likely
to dissolve and organisms that utilize CaCO3 may suffer
Plankton
Doney (2006) Scientific American
• these plankton species are important food
sources for many organisms
Coccolithiphores
www.gaac.gsfc.nasa.gov
Bloom in the Bering Sea off the
coast of Alaska
Sea Urchin Larvae:
Abnormal development in low pH
From Impact of Ocean Warming and Ocean Acidification on Larval Development and
Calcification in the Sea Urchin Tripneustes gratilla. PLoS ONE, 2010 Issue 6, p1-7,
Oysters:
lower fertilization success with more CO2
Parker et al (2009)The effect of ocean acidification and temperature on the fertilization
and embryonic development of the Sydney rock oyster Saccostrea glomerata (Gould
1850). Global Change Biology, Sep2009, Vol. 15 Issue 9, p2123-2136
Mussels and
oysters make
shells slower
when pH goes
down (more
acidic)
pH of 8.2
Coralline
algae
disappear
Snail
shells are
deformed
pH of 7.3-7.6
Hall-Spencer
et al (2008)
Volcanic
carbon
dioxide vents
show
ecosystem
effects of
ocean
acidification.
Source:
Nature,
7/3/2008,
Vol. 454 Issue
7200, p9699,
Coral Reefs will be destroyed if
Temp goes up and pH goes down
O. Hoegh-Guldberg et al., Science 318, 1737 -1742 (2007)
Fig. 5. Extant examples of reefs from the Great Barrier Reef that are used as analogs for the ecological
structures we anticipate for Coral Reef Scenarios CRS-A, CRS-B, and CRS-C (see text)
Published by AAAS
Ocean Acidification: Impacts
increased
sensitivity of corals
to bleaching as a
result of acidified
seawater
conditions

Anthony KRN, Kline DI, Diaz-Pulido G, Dove S,
Hoegh-Guldberg O (2008) Ocean acidification
causes bleaching and productivity loss in coral reef
builders. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:17442–17446
•Increased bleaching
•Decreased ability to
make food
•Decreased ability to
make their shells
©2008 by National Academy of Sciences
Anthony K R N et al. PNAS 2008;105:17442-17446
Ocean Acidification: Impacts
 Decrease in protection from storms that reefs provide
to coastal areas

UNEP-WCMC, "In the front line: Shoreline protection and other ecosystem services from mangroves and
coral reefs (United Nations Environmental Programme–World Conservation Monitoring Centre,
Cambridge, UK, 2006).
 Decrease in reef fish species diversity
 In Asia alone coral reefs provide about one-quarter of
the annual total fish catch and food to about 1 billion
people .

UNEP, "Marine and coastal ecosystems and human well-being: A synthesis report based on the findings
of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment" (United Nations Environmental Programme, 2006).
 Will stress already overstretched fisheries resources.
Ozone Depletion
 Ozone (O3)
 Natural sunscreen- protects from UV
rays
 CFCs (Chloroflourocarbons) depleted
ozone layer
Ozone Hole
 Sept. 24, 2006
 the Antarctic ozone hole
was equal to the record
single-day largest area of
11.4 million square miles
 The blue and purple
colors are where there is
the least ozone, and the
greens, yellows, and reds
are where there is more
ozone.

Credit: NASA
Ozone Hole
1979
2009
Ozone Depletion: Impacts
Phytoplankton (single celled algae)
 lower photosynthetic rates
 inhibition of nutrient uptake
 damage to DNA
Helbling and Zagarese (2003), Vincent and Neale (2000) and Häder et al. (2007).
Ozone Depletion: Impacts
 Higher mortality rates for zooplankton
 These are important links in the food
web
 Also are larval forms of many species
Crab Life Cycle
Marsh Crab Larvae Survival
100
1995
80
60
40
1996
2000
1000
0
1998
0.2
0.1
0.0
100
80
60
diurnal-UV
diurnal-No UV
semidiurnal-UV
semidiurnal-No UV
40
20
0
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
1
2
Time (d)
3
4
UVBR intensity
-2
(mW cm )
Percent Survival
0
Light intensity
-1
-2
(mol s m )
20
Survival
is lower
when
exposed
to UV
Fiddler Crab Larvae Survival
100
1995
80
60
40
1996
2000
1000
0
1998
0.2
0.1
0.0
100
80
60
diurnal-UV
diurnal-No UV
semidiurnal-UV
semidiurnal-No UV
40
20
0
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
1
2
Time (d)
3
4
UVBR intensity
-2
(mW cm )
Percent Survival
0
Light intensity
-1
-2
(mol s m )
20
Survival is
not
consistently
lower when
exposed to
UV
UV does not
penetrate far
into the
water—
Can’t plankton
just move
lower?
Estuarine Larvae Behavior
And get carried out
of the estuary away
from predators
Geographical ranges of U. pugilator and S. cinereum relative to the location of tidal regimes
and study sites along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States (12, 24)
Morgan S G, Anastasia J R PNAS 2008;105:222-227
©2008 by National Academy of Sciences
Ozone Depletion: Impacts
 Changes in zooplankton behavior
Some Zooplankton Can’t
Behaviorally Respond to UV
Fiddler Crab Larvae Survival Is low
when they stay in the surface
waters and are exposed to UV
U. pugilator
Percent Survival
100
80
Diurnal - Dark
Diurnal - Light
Diurnal - UV
60
Semidiurnal - Dark
Semidiurnal - Light
Semidiurnal - UV
40
20
0
10am11am12pm 1pm 2pm
Day 1
Time
10am11am12pm 1pm 2pm
Day 2
And Some Zooplankton Can
respond to UV by Migrating Away
Survival of larvae in "vertical migrations w/ & w/o UV" experiment
Marsh Crab Larvae Survival Is
higher when they are free to
migrate away from UV
S. cinereum
Percent Survival
100
80
Diurnal - Dark
Diurnal - Light
Diurnal - UV
60
Semidiurnal - Dark
Semidiurnal - Light
Semidiurnal - UV
40
20
0
10am11am12pm 1pm 2pm
Day 1
Time
10am11am12pm 1pm 2pm
Day 2
Behavioral Changes
can have other effects
 If larvae migrate out of surface waters…
 They will not be exported out of estuaries
 Will be subject to increased predation by fish
If larvae migrated to deeper waters to avoid UV
They won’t be transported out of estuaries
They will be exposed to fish predators in the
estuary…
more larvae will die
Ozone Depletion and Increased UV
 Can lead to more larvae dying
 This lower the amount of adult crabs
and has ecosystem effects on other
species
Ozone Depletion: Recovery
A Happy Ending…
 Montreal Protocol 1997
 CFC use has been phased out
 The thinning of the Ozone layer has
slowed
Ozone Recovery
Ozone Hole Recovery
2006
2009
In a NASA simulation, a world with no controls on chlorine and bromine pollution leads to
extreme ozone loss (blue hues) over Antarctica.
Controls on pollution are projected to prompt a recovery of the ozone hole later
this century.
Schiermeier (2009) Atmospheric science: Fixing the sky. Nature; Vol. 460 Issue
7257, p792-795
Without the Montreal Protocol and its amendments, the amount of ozone-destroying
compounds would continue to rise, driving up skin-cancer rates.
Schiermeier (2009) Atmospheric science: Fixing the sky. Nature; Vol. 460 Issue
7257, p792-795
The Recovery of the ozone layer
is one example;
It is my hope we will continue to
move in the right direction.
How Ozone Depletion Works
 Ozone (O3)
 Natural sunscreen- protects from UV rays
 CFCs depleted ozone layer
 UV light breaks the Cl (chlorine) free from CFCs
 Cl reacts and gets stored as two chemicals (hydrochloric acid,
and chlorine nitrate) which are stable
 In Antarctic Winter, Polar Vortex winds isolate the air and
cause the two stable chemicals to change to more active
forms, such as Cl2 (chlorine gas)
 When spring comes (Aug – October), the UV light splits the
Cl2 into free chlorine atoms which ultimatley destroy the
ozone
Ecological feedback processes on a coral reef showing pathways of disturbance caused by climate
change
Boxes joined by red arrows denote that the first factor has a negative
(decreasing) influence on the box indicated. Green arrows denote positive
(increasing) relationships. Over time, the levels of factors in hexagonal
boxes will increase, whereas those in rectangular boxes will decline. Boxes
with dashed lines are amenable to local management intervention.
Published by AAAS
O. Hoegh-Guldberg et al., Science 318, 1737 -1742 (2007)