Marine Ecosystems and Climate Change: The Bigger Picture 29
April 2009 | News story New report highlights the impacts of
climate change across the marine ecosystem IUCN is delighted to
support the latest climate change report card released yesterday
by the Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP). The
MCCIP ‘ecosystem linkages’ report card highlights just how much
climate change is affecting the UK marine environment and shows
how impacts as wide ranging as melting sea ice and shifting
species relate to each other, with potentially important
consequences for mankind. Key findings from the report published
today include: - CO2 and Ocean Acidification – In the last 200
years, ocean acidity has increased by 30%, a rate much faster
than in the last 65 million years. This has serious implications
for marine ecosystems and climate regulation. - Arctic Sea-Ice –
In the last decade there has been a 35% decrease in summer sea
ice and a 15% reduction in winter sea-ice, leading to changes in
habitats and ecosys