The Lungs
Covering over 70 percent of the Earth’s surface,
oceans are essential to life. Undoubtedly, our
oceans are changing in response to climate change.
What does this mean for our liquid planet?The oceans are crucial to regulating climate and act as
“the lungs of the Earth”, with algae and cyanobacteria in
seawater providing up to 80 percent of the atmospheric
oxygen which we rely on to breathe. The oceans also house
over 230,000 marine species, with estimates that there are
between one and 10 million species still undiscovered.
Alongside their own intrinsic value, many of these marine
species provide important goods and services. Collectively,
ocean-related services and business are estimated to
contribute over USD500 billion to the world’s economy.
of the Earth
Trying harder and harder to breathe
Te x t
Dr Emma CampOur survival is undeniably dependent on a healthy ocean.
However, climate change, in tandem with other human
impacts, such as pollution and overfishing, threaten the very
resource that life on Earth depends on. These threats will
continue to intensify as the global population grows, placing
an ever-increasing strain on the world’s marine ecosystems.
The oceans have a two-way relationship with the Earth,
with the oceans influencing climate, weather and coastal
landscapes, while the Earth’s climate directly alters the
oceans’ physical and chemical conditions. Consequently,
the increasing temperatures on Earth, owing to global
warming over the past 50 years, have also resulted in warmer
surface waters and greater heat storage in the world’s oceans.
Furthermore, the oceans currently absorb approximately
a quarter of all excess carbon dioxide generated by humanScience