Mar 29, 2020
Jordan Diamond, Holly Doremus & Ronán Long
Altered weather patterns, exacerbated drought and flood cycles, increased incidence of wildfires, melting glaciers—we frequently hear about how human-induced climate change is affecting everyday life and the world around us. But the attention frequently focuses on terrestrial impacts, stopping at the coastline with observance of rising sea levels. The oceans are not insulated from the effects of climate change, however. Far from it. The oceans are the single largest carbon sink on the planet, absorbing roughly one quarter of all anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions since the start of the Industrial Revolution. Although they may be less directly visible to land-dwellers like human beings, the impacts of climate change on the oceans are highly significant, ecologically and economically.