A new United Nations assessment says the world’s oceans are under “severe and accelerating” pressure from human activities, including pollution, large-scale industrial fishing, and the climate crisis. The report finds that stresses are cumulative and intensifying, contributing to widespread biodiversity loss and placing ocean systems under “severe strain.” The UN’s third World Ocean Assessment compiles findings from nearly 600 scientists across 86 countries and evaluates ocean conditions from 2021 to 2025. It compares its conclusions with earlier assessments, which found persistent degradation of the marine environment. One highlighted change is the acceleration of sea-level rise: the rate increases from about 2 millimeters per year before 2015 to about 4.3 millimeters per year in 2023, according to the report summarized in the coverage. The assessment also describes continued ocean warming, including that a notable share of global ocean heat increase since 1955 occurs after 2018, and notes that some ocean regions experience relatively greater warming. The report emphasizes remaining knowledge gaps, including limited mapping of the ocean floor and limited understanding of deep-sea ecosystems.
UN warns oceans face severe, accelerating stress as sea-level rise rate doubles
A new United Nations assessment says the world’s oceans are under “severe and accelerating” pressure from human activities, including pollution, large-scale industrial fishing, and the climate crisis....
- The UN’s third World Ocean Assessment warns oceans face “severe and accelerating” pressure from human activities.
- The report links intensifying pressures to pollution, large-scale industrial fishing, and the climate crisis.
- Sea-level rise is reported to accelerate, increasing from about 2 mm/year before 2015 to about 4.3 mm/year in 2023.
- The assessment describes ongoing ocean warming and wider biodiversity loss associated with cumulative stresses.
- Scientists identify major gaps in knowledge, including limited mapping of the ocean floor and incomplete understanding of deep-sea ecosystems.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: The world's oceans are under "severe and accelerating" pressure from human activities, with the rate of sea-level rise double that of a decade ago, according to a damning assessment from the United Nations. The "intensifying" stressors, which include pollution and large-scale industrial fishing, are cumulative, said the report, resulting in widespread biodiversity loss and putting ocean systems under "severe strain." The UN's third World Ocean Assessment, which reflects the work of nearly 600 scientists from 86 countries, looked at the oceans' health from 2021-25. The previous report, that covered up to 2018, found persistent degradation of the marine environment. Five years on, scientists know more about the cumulative impacts of anthropogenic pressures on the ocean, and the latest report shows just how much of the damage has been done in the past few years. The scientists' key findings include: - Sea levels continue to rise at an increasing rate, from 2mm a year prior to 2015 to 4.3mm a year in 2023. - 16% of the increase in global ocean heat since 1955 occurred after 2018. - The greatest relative warming has been observed in the Atlantic Ocean and the southern parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. - Large gaps in knowledge persist -- with only 27% of the ocean floor mapped by 2025, deep-sea ecosystems remain poorly understood. Lukas Meus, Greenpeace's global ocean campaigner, said: "We are calling on governments to create fully protected ocean sanctuaries that will close vast areas of the ocean off from extractive human activities. Governments have promised to protect 30% of the world's ocean by 2030 -- the minimum scientists say we need for the ocean to be able to recover." Read more of this story at Slashdot.
2 months agoGlobal effort needed to limit effects of pollution, industrial fishing and climate crisis, World Ocean Assessment saysThe world’s oceans are under “severe and accelerating” pressure from human activities, with the rate of sea-level rise double that of a decade ago, according to a damning assessment from the United Nations.The “intensifying” stressors, which include pollution and large-scale industrial fishing, are cumulative, said the report, resulting in widespread biodiversity loss and putting ocean systems under “severe strain”. Continue reading...
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