Greenhouse Gas Emissions Could Trigger Mass Extinction of Marine Life in the Next Few Centuries: New Study

Marine life as we know it will undergo mass extinction in the next few centuries if greenhouse gas emissions continue.

As the world's oceans continue to warm, researchers from Princeton University in New Jersey claimed we are currently on track to losing marine biodiversity by 2100.

Road to Extinction

In a recent paper published in the journal Science on Friday, April 29, the authors of the study perceived that there is still a chance of averting the potentially catastrophic event by curbing the heat-trapping gases, as cited by Phys.org, a UK-based online research news aggregator.

The Princeton University research team came up with the projection by modeling future marine biodiversity under various possible climate scenarios.

The model suggested that if emissions are not stopped, the loss of marine species from ocean warming and ocean deoxygenation as early as almost eight decades from now.

Beyond 2100, the projections show that it could get worse that may result in unparalleled scenarios, which is comparable to extinction-level events of the past.

However, only this time, the process will take place gradually.

Specifically, the authors reported that tropical waters would be the site of the greatest loss of marine life, while marine species in polar waters have the highest risk of extinction, as per Phys.org.

Global Warming and Ocean Warming

Although the long-term future projects are theoretical, ocean warming is already occurring at great magnitudes than we have previously thought, and this is due to the global warming of the planet.

Global warming occurs when trapped greenhouse gases (GHG), including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, are trapped in the atmosphere, which then absorbs solar and increases the process of the greenhouse effect.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), both polar oceans in the Arctic and Antarctica icy regions have already warmed in recent years.

For more than two decades, the arctic surface air temperature has likely increased more than double the global average, said the IPCC.

This is due to the reported poleward ocean heat transport, which contributes to Arctic Ocean warming.

The IPCC also cited previous research that ocean warming in the Southern Ocean may occur by 2100.

Furthermore, various research has also shown that ocean warming has already affected the western portion of Antarctica's icy waters.

Climate Change and Ocean Deoxygenation

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the oceans are absorbing more heat when GHG trap more energy from the Sun.

Not only those changes in ocean temperatures will decrease oxygen levels and kill marine life, but they will also alter climate patterns across the globe.

The EPA highlights that "significant changes" in ocean heat, sea surface temperature, sea level, and ocean acidity pose some of the deadliest marine hazards if climate change is not reversed.

Moreover, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has put emphasis on ocean deoxygenation, or the loss of the oceans' oxygen, which has declined by approximately 2% since the middle of the 20th century.

Similar to the Princeton University study and the IPCC projections, the IUCN has also made a similar, yet different focus, that ocean oxygen levels are expected to decrease by 3% or 4%.

Under these circumstances, it could disrupt the marine ecosystem and result in the death of marine biodiversity.