Coastline faces a new enemy - climate change

 

By Steve Connor, Science Editor

 

Climate change has replaced pollution and overfishing as the biggest threat to the coasts of Britain, a study by the government's Environment Agency has found.

Higher temperatures and rising sea levels have changed the nature of many of the fundamental problems faced by marine conservationists, said Barbara Young, the agency's chief executive. "The good news is that major historical issues such as sewage pollution are being addressed and their impact reduced," Baroness Young said.

"Sadly, other impacts, such as climate change, are becoming an increasing threat to the marine environment and those that depend on it.

The Environment Agency's latest review of the marine environment found that coastal erosion, flooding and the effect of climate change on marine wildlife had increased the long-term risk to the British coastline. "Climate change is significantly altering the marine environment and affecting populations of marine life," the study says

Average sea-surface temperatures around Britain have increased by between 0.5C and 1C over the past century, which has driven microscopic marine plants called phytoplankton further north. "Warmer temperatures since the late 1980s have encouraged higher phytoplankton densities that have made our seas greener in colour," the report says.

Changes in phytoplankton have also altered zooplankton, microscopic animals on which many fish such as cod feed. "This has contributed to falling cod populations. Cod and other species of fish are also moving north," the report says.

Over the past 40 years, warmer seas have forced many marine animals and plants to move roughly the length of Britain toward the cooler seas of Scandinavia.

Sea levels are increasing by about a millimetre per year and the level of the highest tides and the average height of winter waves have increased. As a result, coastal erosion has increased, with 6 per cent of sites in England and Wales and 20 per cent of sites on the east coast eroding at more than a metre every year.

"The erosion of our coasts is likely to increase with climate change, with the cost of damage from erosion estimated at £100m a year," the report found.

The Environment Agency estimates that climate change could increase by between four and tenfold the risk of flooding unless more money is spent on reinforcing coastal defences.

Despite improvements in pollution controls, about 80 per cent of marine pollutants still come from the land and a quarter of Britain's coastal waters are at risk of "diffuse" pollution caused by inadvertent run-off of farm fertilisers and pesticides.

Fish stocks have fallen to historically low levels with only 38 per cent of fish in UK waters being harvested sustainably, the agency found.

Sir John Harman, chairman of the Environment Agency said that Britain needed to strike a better balance between the different use of our coasts and seas to protect the marine environment. He said: "Already animals such as the basking shark which rely on small sea organisms for food have migrated north. A survey of UK coastal waters found 172 of 187 basking sharks were in Scottish waters."

The Environment Agency said there were still many unknowns about Britain's marine ecosystem that could affect its long-term health.

"The marine environment is under threat, [but] the nature and extent of these threats are often unclear," it said.

Climate change has replaced pollution and overfishing as the biggest threat to the coasts of Britain, a study by the government's Environment Agency has found.

Higher temperatures and rising sea levels have changed the nature of many of the fundamental problems faced by marine conservationists, said Barbara Young, the agency's chief executive. "The good news is that major historical issues such as sewage pollution are being addressed and their impact reduced," Baroness Young said.

"Sadly, other impacts, such as climate change, are becoming an increasing threat to the marine environment and those that depend on it.

The Environment Agency's latest review of the marine environment found that coastal erosion, flooding and the effect of climate change on marine wildlife had increased the long-term risk to the British coastline. "Climate change is significantly altering the marine environment and affecting populations of marine life," the study says

Average sea-surface temperatures around have increased by between 0.5C and 1C over the past century, which has driven microscopic marine plants called phytoplankton further north. "Warmer temperatures since the late 1980s have encouraged higher phytoplankton densities that have made our seas greener in colour," the report says.

Changes in phytoplankton have also altered zooplankton, microscopic animals on which many fish such as cod feed. "This has contributed to falling cod populations. Cod and other species of fish are also moving north," the report says.

Over the past 40 years, warmer seas have forced many marine animals and plants to move roughly the length of toward the cooler seas of Scandinavia .

Sea levels are increasing by about a millimetre per year and the level of the highest tides and the average height of winter waves have increased. As a result, coastal erosion has increased, with 6 per cent of sites in and and 20 per cent of sites on the east coast eroding at more than a metre every year.

"The erosion of our coasts is likely to increase with climate change, with the cost of damage from erosion estimated at £100m a year," the report found.

The Environment Agency estimates that climate change could increase by between four and tenfold the risk of flooding unless more money is spent on reinforcing coastal defences.

Despite improvements in pollution controls, about 80 per cent of marine pollutants still come from the land and a quarter of 's coastal waters are at risk of "diffuse" pollution caused by inadvertent run-off of farm fertilisers and pesticides.

Fish stocks have fallen to historically low levels with only 38 per cent of fish in waters being harvested sustainably, the agency found.

Sir John Harman, chairman of the Environment Agency said that needed to strike a better balance between the different use of our coasts and seas to protect the marine environment. He said: "Already animals such as the basking shark which rely on small sea organisms for food have migrated north. A survey of UK coastal waters found 172 of 187 basking sharks were in Scottish waters."

The Environment Agency said there were still many unknowns about 's marine ecosystem that could affect its long-term health.

"The marine environment is under threat, [but] the nature and extent of these threats are often unclear," it said.

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article326309.ece

Water vapor feedback is rapidly warming Europe

WASHINGTON -- A new report indicates that the vast majority of the rapid temperature increase recently observed in Europe is likely due to an unexpected greenhouse gas: water vapor.

Elevated surface temperatures due to other greenhouse gases have enhanced water evaporation and contributed to a cycle that stimulates further surface temperature increases, according to a report in Geophysical Research Letters.

The research could help to answer a long-debated Earth science question about whether the water cycle could strongly enhance greenhouse warming.

Swiss researchers examined surface radiation measurements from 1995 to 2002 over the Alps in Central Europe and show strongly increasing total surface absorbed radiation, concurrent with rapidly increasing temperature.

The authors, led by Rolf Philipona of the World Radiation Center in Davos, show experimentally that 70 percent of the rapid temperature increase is very likely caused by water vapor feedback. They indicate that remaining 30 percent is likely due to increasing manmade greenhouse gases.

The researchers analyzed temperature and humidity changes over Europe , which jumped nearly three times above the levels predicted by general circulation models in the past two decades. They provide observational evidence that large-scale weather patterns in Europe influence annual average temperatures uniformly, but weakly.

They suggest that their combined observations indicate that the region is experiencing an increasing greenhouse effect and that the dominant part of the rising heat emitted from the Earth's atmosphere (longwave radiation) is due to water vapor increase.

After examining increased cloud cover to the north of the Alps and decreased cover to the south, the authors report that both sides of the mountain range experienced clear warming over the 1995-2002 period. While clouds are not entirely responsible for the warming, such findings correspond with previous cloud investigations showing that for midlatitudes, annual mean cloud cooling from the Sun (shortwave radiation) is roughly canceled by cloud warming caused by heat emitted by longwave radiation from the surface.

The strong increase of longwave radiation is shown in the study to be due to increasing cloudiness, rising temperature, rising water vapor, and above all to long-lived manmade greenhouse gases. The scientists' radiation measurements in the Alps show that the various inputs, or forcings, can be separated and that manmade greenhouse forcing is measurable at Earth's surface.

Above all, their measurements demonstrate strong water vapor feedback that rapidly warms Central and Northeastern Europe , where sufficient water is available from plants and the surface, known as evapotranspiration.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-11/agu-wvf110805.php

Global Warming Impacts Korean Fisheries Industry

Global warming is affecting the migration of birds, fish and other animals around the world, and the Korean eco-system is no exception.

An attention-grabber on Korea's East Coast these days is the large stingray with a wingspan of at least 1.5 meters. This flat disk-like fish common in tropical coastal areas started appearing in Korean waters only in recent years. Minke whales and sharks are two other unexpected catches for Korean fishermen. Apart from these newcomers, another group of fish is surprising locals by appearing when they are not supposed to. The prime example is squid, a typical summer catch in Korea. Also, saury pike and mackerel, which are usually found around Korea's southern Island of Jeju this time of the year, made their way up to the eastern shores of the peninsula.

Along with this rare appearance of summer fish, traditional winter catches are disappearing. Pollack is one of them. The East Sea pollack fishery has produced 15 tons so far this year, down a whopping 98 percent compared to 1980. Many Koreans are disappointed to see dwindling catches of winter fish like pollack, herring and cod, which have long been an essential part of the country's wintertime cuisine.

With the rapid changes in Korea's maritime climate, fisheries and consumers are calling for a more accurate assessment of global warming and its impacts on the ecosystem.

Arirang News

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200511/200511070004.html