Is solar UV frying fish? 20 March 2007 Marine and freshwater
organisms could be facing damage due to increasing levels of
ultraviolet (UV) radiation, according to a United Nations (UN)
commissioned review. The news is reported in the latest edition
of the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Photochemical &
Photobiological Sciences. Aquatic ecosystems produce over half
the biomass of the Earth and are an integral part of the
planet's biosphere. The international team behind the review is
worried that the depleted ozone layer has exposed these
ecosystems to harmful levels of UV radiation, particularly in
polar regions where the ozone layer is the thinnest. There could
also be wider implications for climate change, since if UV
damage cuts marine ecosystem productivity, the oceans' capacity
to mop up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide would fall. This
extra atmospheric CO2 could then add to global warming.
Additionally, the annual phytoplankton boom, which supports the
entire Antarctic aquatic food chain, is curren