Effect Of Climate Change On Ocean Waters Research Paper Example

Climatic changes affect the ocean waters to a great extent. The changes are affecting the temperatures in the ocean and thus interfering with the supply of nutrients, ocean chemistry, ocean currents, wind systems, and food chains. These affect the marine organism, and the sharks are greatly affected. These factors destroy the physiochemical environment that supports life of organisms by altering the environmental conditions. The factors are divided into two sections; direct and indirect factors. Notably, water temperature, freshwater input and ocean acidification are classified as direct factors. On the other hand, the indirect factors include water and air temperature, ocean circulation, severe weather, sea level rise amongst others. All these factors affect the ocean waters and jeopardize the life of sharks and other living organisms in the oceans.
The rising sea level is dangerous to the ecosystem. This has attributed by melting of the glaciers and polar ice, in addition to warm water thermal expansion. The rising sea levels blocks and lessens the amount of light that reaches the offshore plants and algae. In the process, the rate of photosynthesis will reduce, and this causes a direct impact on ocean waters. It should also be noted that increased ocean heat is growing at an alarming rate. The increased ocean heat has affected the sea level and currents apart from the sea surface temperature. Nonetheless, it should also be noted that the augmented levels of carbon dioxide have led to ocean acidity, and this has affected the waters. Ocean acidity is dangerous since it interferes with the minerals present in the water.
Global warming also affects the normal conditions in the environment causing stormy and unpredictable weather. The existence of tropical storms and heavy rainfall continues to damage the coral reefs o the oceans. The massive damage inflicted to coral reefs the ocean ecosystems affecting the waters. Climatic changes have been common throughout geologic history causing threats to oceanic waters to a large extent. For instance, the Pleistocene started 2.6 million, and it causes glacial cycles that are separated by interglacial periods. 19,000 years ago, the maximum glacial period happened, and the amount of ice in the sea dropped in sea level (O’Brien et.al 2). The glacial advances affected the population abundance of the living organisms existing in oceanic waters. As illustrated above, the changes that occur in the climate continue to affect the ocean waters negatively, and this put the marine organisms at high risks.

How sharks are affected by climate change

When the ocean water is acidified with too much carbon dioxide, the behavior of sharks may be influenced. The shark may experience difficulty in swimming especially during nighttime. The exploitation of fossil fuels has contributed to increased acidity in oceanic waters affecting the lives of sharks (Rosa et.al 1). The water acidity exposes the sharks to a high risk of extinction. The presence of the Co2 in the ocean waters interrupts with the behavior of sharks by enabling them to swim for longer durations than before. The sharks have a difficult time to adapt to the increased levels of Co2 in the ocean waters. A shark sense of smell is affected by the acidifying waters makes it hard for the animal to detect the odors of prey. With this in mind, the sharks will not be able to hunt for the prey easily, and they might develop poor health due to starvation. Freshwater inputs cause affects the nutrient cycling and productivity in the ocean waters and this continue to expose the danger the ocean ecosystem. Also, droughts and floods in the environment lead to a low biological productivity, and this also affect the sharks present in the oceanic waters (O’Brien et.al 2).
The shelf and pelagic sharks are affected by the alterations that destroy the nutrients levels in water. The pelagic environment is affected in a way that the productivity of these sharks is minimized (Chin et.al 7). The damage is also caused to the reef habitats by the increased temperatures, ocean acidity and the stormy weather in the oceans. These factors combined interfere with the habitat that supports the sharks. The coral reefs are destroyed causing an imbalance in the nutrients level in the ocean. The destruction of the coral reefs habitat will make it hard for the mobile reef sharks to locate environmentally friendly habitats, and this will put their survival at high risks (Chin et.al 14). The changes in the climate will also prompt to the migration of sharks seeking for the hot spots that are less affected. The pelagic sharks and the rays’ shark will be the most affected as they will develop a seasonal migration pattern (Chin et.al 14).
The climatic changes have increased the vulnerability of sharks by introducing risks that affect their survival. Pundits and think tanks must launch massive campaigns that will create awareness of the need to protect and preserve the environment. By introducing the necessary precautions and measures, the oceanic waters will not be affected to extents of interfering with the habitats that support existence of living organisms in these habitats.

Works cited

Chin, Andrew, et al. "An integrated risk assessment for climate change: analysing the vulnerability of sharks and rays on Australia's Great Barrier Reef." Global Change Biology 16.7 (2010): 1936-1953.
O’Brien, Shannon M., Vincent F. Gallucci, and Lorenz Hauser. "Effects of species biology on the historical demography of sharks and their implications for likely consequences of contemporary climate change." Conservation Genetics 14.1 (2013): 125-144.
Rosa, Rui, et al. "Early-life exposure to climate change impairs tropical shark survival." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281.1793 (2014): 20141738.