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As carbon concentrations in the atmosphere increase from land use changes and emissions from fossil fuels - so do concentrations in the ocean, with resultant acidification as a natural chemical [..]
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Atmospheric concentration of CO2 is steadily rising, and oceans directly assimilate CO2. As ocean concentration of CO2 increases, the oceans automatically become more acidic. This, in turn, may have [..]
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Besides the well-known economic value of fisheries, there are several other activities generating significant revenues in coastal and marine areas. This graphic discusses the economic benefits of [..]
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Marine fisheries represent a significant, but finite, natural resource for coastal countries. The majority of the catches in some of the areas of the coast are not primarily by the coastal countries, [..]
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A significant sea level rise is one of the major anticipated consequences of climate change. This graphic explains the causes of sea level change according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate [..]
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During a period between May 1994 to September 1995 the profile of the beach dramatically changed. A rising sea level combined with more storms, washed away vulnerable beaches. With the sand gone, the [..]
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Projected areas of above normal sea temperature where coral bleaching is likely to occur for the SRES A2 scenario (continuing current trends) by two different models, the PCM (1.7°C increase in 100 [..]
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Knowledge and mapping of these processes is still scarce due to uneven research effort. The map shows sites with known dense shelf water cascading phenomena, which often may involve the 'flushing' [..]
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Climate change may, through effects on ocean currents, elevated sea temperatures, coral bleaching, shifts in marine life, ocean acidification and much more severely exacerbate the combined actions of [..]
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The figure demonstrates that the overwhelming majority of marine areas under national jurisdiction in East Africa are deeper than 200 metres (dark blue). Areas in red indicate where the [..]
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Coral reefs are marine ridges or mounds, which have formed over millennia as a result of the deposition of calcium carbonate by living organisms, predominantly corals, but also a rich diversity of [..]
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The two main reasons for sea-level rise are thermal expansion of ocean waters as they warm, and increase in the ocean mass, principally from land-based sources of ice (glaciers and ice caps, and the [..]
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Infrastructure development, intensive agricultural expansion, urbanisation and coastal development are increasing the flow of sediments and sewage into the ocean. The situation is most severe around [..]
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The locations of major problem areas for invasive species infestations or occurrence of exotic species in the marine
environment. The impacted areas are concurrent with the areas subjected to the [..]
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All across the planet, the number and severity of outbreaks and infestations of invasive species (i.e. species purposefully or accidentally introduced in non-native environments) is growing, and [..]
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Primary ocean productivity, as measured in grammes of carbon per square meter, from remote sensing imagery outlines the areas with rich marine life. These areas are characterised by an abundance of [..]
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With melting sea ice and warming of the oceans, marine species change their distributions, affecting entire food chains and ocean productivity. In 2005 the subtropical dinoflagellate Ceratium [..]
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Even for today’s socio-economic conditions, both regionally and globally, large numbers of people and significant economic activity are exposed to sea-level rise. The densely populated megadeltas are [..]
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Each of the big five stressors (not in order of magnitude), 1) Climate change; 2) Pollution (mainly coastal), 3) Fragmentation and habitat loss (from e.g. dredging/trawling, use of explosives in [..]
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Sewage treatment is low or absent in many parts of the World, leading to eutrophication of the coastal zone, (toxic) algae blooms and dramatically reduce the ability of coral to recover from bleaching [..]
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Dead zones (hypoxic i.e. oxygen deficient water) in the coastal zones are increasing, typically surrounding major industrial and agricultural centers. This is commonly occuring due to nutrient [..]
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The world's marine fisheries have stagnated or slightly declined in the last decade, offset only by increases in aquaculture production. A major reason why the decline has not become more evident is [..]
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With growing population and infrastructures the world’s exposure to natural hazards is inevitably increasing. This is particularly true as the strongest population growth is located in coastal areas [..]
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Tropical cyclones, or hurricanes or typhoons, are storm weather systems, characterised by a low pressure centre, thunderstorms and high windspeeds. As the name testifies, these occur in the areas [..]
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The impacts of coral reefs from rising sea temperatures. When coral reefs become heat-exposed they die, leaving the white dead coral, also known as bleaching. With even moderate pollution, the coral [..]
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The World’s most productive fishing grounds are confined to major hotspots, less than 10% of the World oceans. The maps shows annual catch (tonnes per km2) for the World’s oceans. Notice the strong [..]
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The continental shelves, ridges and sea mounts are the most productive areas in terms of biodiversity, and is of highest importance for economic activities. It is also here that natural resources [..]
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The global conveyor belt thermohaline circulation is driven primarily by the formation and sinking of deep water (from around 1500m to the Antarctic bottom water overlying the bottom of the ocean) in [..]
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