Great Disaster To Hit Global Oceans Due To Climate Change, Devastation Set By 2100

Climate change brought by global warming will greatly affect the world's oceans and the effects will dramatically be felt by 2100.

By 2100, the global seas are set to experience the debilitating effects of warming, acidification and oxygen depletion, where the biogeochemical changes can easily create a ripple effect that will strike marine habitats and organisms and the rest of the global population dependent on them.

"When you look at the world ocean, there are few places that will be free of changes. Most will suffer the simultaneous effects of warming, acidification, and reductions in oxygen and productivity," Camilo Mora, assistant professor at the Department of Geography in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and study lead author, said.

The study noted the upper layer of the ocean will experience a global temperature average jump of 1.2 to 2.6 degrees Celsius, a pH decline of 0.15 to 0.31, reduced dissolved oxygen and diminished production of phytoplankton.

The ocean, which covers over 70 percent of the planet's surface, would become messed up because of climate change.

"The consequences of these co-occurring changes are massive, everything from species survival, abundance, range size, body size, species richness and ecosystem functioning are affected by changes in ocean biogeochemistry," Mora added.

Andrew Thurber, Oregon State University oceanographer and co-author on the study, said at least 2 billion people would be affected by these changes in less than 100 years.

"The most troubling aspect of our results was that we found that many of the environmental stressors will co-occur in areas inhabited by people who can least afford it," Thurber added.

He noted between 400 million and 800 million people are dependent on the oceans for their livelihood and only make less than $4,000 annually from it.

"Adapting to climate change is a costly endeavor, whether it is retooling a fishing fleet to target a changing fish stock, or moving to a new area or occupation."