Oceans For Dummies. Joseph Kraynak

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СКАЧАТЬ and air-conditioning (HVAC) units used to heat and cool most homes, but instead of circulating hot and cold air, it captures heat from the sun and distributes it through the circulation of water. Imagine Earth’s frozen poles as air conditioners, the equator as its heater, and the ocean as the blower and ductwork, distributing the heat and cold all around the world.

      Ocean currents transport warm water from the equator to the poles and cold water from the poles to the tropics. These currents act like a gigantic conveyor belt, moving warm and cool water to areas of contrasting temperature, thereby keeping the entire planet at a fairly comfortable 58.3 degrees Fahrenheit (on average). Sure, that’s sweater weather for people and might make a polar bear break out in a sweat, but as an average temperature it’s perfect.

      Without ocean currents, regional temperatures would be more extreme — super hot at the equator and far more frigid than it already is at the poles — and much less of Earth’s land would be habitable. See Chapter 16 for more about how the ocean circulates water and Chapter 17 for how it influences climate and weather.

      DIFFERENTIATING CLIMATE FROM WEATHER

      Nobody has trouble with the concept of weather because it impacts us every day. We check weather forecasts daily to plan our outdoor activities, to find out how to dress ourselves and our kids, to decide whether or not to carry an umbrella, and more. On the other hand, many people struggle with the concept of climate. For example, some people wonder how climate change (or global warming, as it is sometimes called) can be real when they experience a rogue snowstorm in the spring.

      Well, the difference between weather and climate is that weather is affected by short-term changes in the atmosphere, which can still cause a cold spell when there shouldn’t be one, whereas climate describes the AVERAGE weather in an area over a LONG PERIOD of time. For example, weather in a desert may be rainy or sunny on a particular day, but the climate is dry. Likewise, most of South Florida has a tropical climate (hot and humid), but the weather on some days may be cool and dry relative to Florida’s seasonal climate.

      So let’s be very clear: Climate change (global warming) is real. According to an ongoing temperature analysis conducted by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), the average global temperature on Earth has increased by more than 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1880. That may not seem like much, but it is. Head over to Chapter 17 for more about climate change (global warming) and how it’s bad news for the ocean and for us.

The ocean also plays a key role in the water cycle — the continuous process by which water is carried around the world through evaporation, condensation, precipitation (rain and snow), and transpiration (the movement of water through plants). Even though the ocean is salt water, water that evaporates from the ocean’s surface is fresh water, and much of it falls to the ground as rain or snow, bringing us essential water for drinking and for growing food.

       Nearly all precipitation that falls on land originates in the ocean.

      The water that evaporates combined with heat from the ocean’s surface is responsible for the powerful storms that unleash their energy over land, often damaging coastlines and destroying property, but this is all part of the ocean’s role in regulating the weather and contributing to the water cycle. By the way, the ocean’s surface temperature can also impact the severity of storms, making them weaker or stronger.

Producing Protein for Billions of People

      Humans and our ancestors have been eating seafood for a looooooooooong time. Yep, in a cave called Figueira Brava, located outside Lisbon (Portugal), remains of harvested mussels date back to a Neanderthal dinner some 80,000 to 160,000 years ago. Evidence also shows that Homo sapiens harvested shellfish at South Africa’s Pinnacle Point between 164,000 and 120,000 years ago. So our love of seafood and its important nutrients goes way back.

      According to the World Wildlife Fund, three billion people around the world today depend on wild-caught or farmed seafood as their primary source of protein. Now that’s a whole lot of sushi (and other seafood), and it doesn’t count consumption by the other five billion or so people on the planet. That makes seafood the largest traded food commodity on Earth. But this incredible ocean bounty is being pulled out at unsustainable rates; 90 percent of all fish stocks today are either over-fished or fished to capacity (see Chapters 19 and 21 for details).

      To feed the nine or close to ten billion people estimated to populate the planet by 2050, we need to make sure our fisheries are healthy and brimming with fish. According to one estimate (oceana.org/feedtheworld), with the right management and restoration, we could increase global fish stocks by 15 percent, enough fish to feed one billion people a seafood meal every single day.

Save the fish! One way you can contribute to a sustainable ocean is by switching supplements. Currently, fish and krill are a main source of omega 3s in most supplements. But fish and krill get their omega 3s from algae, so all you need to do is cut out the middleman by switching from fish oil to algae oil. Algae pills provide the same omega 3 benefits, but they’re vegetarian, tasteless (no nasty fish burps after taking them), and ocean-friendly. Why make the switch? Well, the fish oil/krill oil industry is wreaking havoc on the marine food web. See Chapter 21 to find out more about what can be done to restore marine life populations and diversity.

Contributing Trillions to the Global Economy

      Sticking a price tag on the ocean is a real challenge. How would you go about measuring its economic value? Would you use a metric like the one used for countries — gross domestic product (GDP)? And if the value of the ocean could be quantified, would it be considered rich compared to the countries with the biggest economies?

      Well, in 2015, the World Wildlife Fund, the Global Change Institute (at the University of Queensland), and the Boston Consulting Group set out to quantify the ocean’s economic value. They did so by adding up the dollar value of the various benefits gained through fisheries, tourism, shipping, and coastal protection from coral reefs and mangroves, to name a few.

      This massive analysis concluded that the sea is worth … wait for it … US$24 trillion. That’s trillion, with a “T.” Its annual gross marine product (the equivalent of GDP) was estimated to be US$2.5 trillion a year. That would rank the ocean as the world’s seventh largest economy, sitting between the United Kingdom and Brazil. Maybe, just maybe the ocean should have a seat at the G7 Summit … we’re just sayin’.

      Here’s the breakdown from the study:

Ocean Asset	US$ Trillion
Marine fisheries	2.9
Mangroves	1.0
Coral reefs	0.9
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