Oceans of Change

Two articles in the news this week concerning the oceans should be of interest to Rhode Islanders. The first concerns the increasing acidity levels being felt in the Pacific Northwest coast now, but will reach us in the future, and the second - rising sea levels- is already being felt and documented here and now.

In mid-October 2011 at the Society of Environmental Journalists meeting in California, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA) chief Jane Lubchenco said that rising ocean acidity is becoming the climate crisis that the media is missing. She called it the "most under-reported global environmental story today." The ocean has become 30% more acidic over the last century and it is worst in the Pacific Northwest region where upwelling from deep ocean and local run-off are exacerbating the situation. Scientists have called it the "osteoporosis of the sea" because it affects the hard part of organisms, causing shells to break down or not form at all. This is bad not only for the organisms themselves but can affect organisms sense of smell and impacts reproduction. Lubchenco calls it an "unfolding story" as much more is still unknown. Lubchenco said more research and monitoring is needed, but also at local levels efforts should be made to reduce run-off, especially nitrogen pollution. Efforts should also be made to prevent overfishing and block invasive species. The only long term solution, she says, is to reduce carbon emissions. For a good summation of acidification go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EaLRcVdTbM&feature=youtu.be.

The second ocean news is of an on-going project coordinated by the Coastal Resources Center and RI Sea Grant (both based at University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography) to improve projections of what rising sea level could mean to the state in the years ahead. Information garnered can help manage our shoreline.

While part of the project has been to create computer models of what parts of the state might look like with increases of 1 to 3 feet - they are also seeking actual documented high tides to validate the projections. So citizens who photograph these extreme tides are being asked to submit these to the Coastal Resources Center. This week our state will experience exceptionally high tides (a foot and a half higher than normal) due to astronomical causes - a new moon which coincides with the moon's closest orbital pass - a lunar perigee.

Sea level is expected to rise about 1 foot by 2050, but the pace of the rise seems to be increasing. Prior to 1990, the rate was 10 inches per 100 years, but now has accelerated to 14 inches per 100 years.