Ocean deoxygenation

Ocean deoxygenation is a term that has been suggested to describe the expansion of oxygen minimum zones in the world's oceans as a consequence of anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide .

Oceanographers and others have discussed what phrase best describes the phenomenon to non-specialists. Among the options considered have been 'ocean suffocation' (which was used in a news report from May 2008 ), 'ocean oxygen deprivation' , 'decline in ocean oxygen', 'marine deoxygenation', 'ocean oxygen depletion' and 'ocean hypoxia'.

Implications

Ocean deoxygenation poses implications for ocean productivity, nutrient cycling, carbon cycling, and marine habitat.

Ocean model simulations predict a decline of up to 7% in the global ocean O2 content over the next hundred years. The decline of oxygen is projected to continue for a thousand years or more.

See also

• Anoxic event
• Anoxic waters
• Dead zone (ecology)
• Ocean acidification

References

• 1.^ Expanding Oxygen-Minimum Zones in the Tropical Oceans by L. Stramma et al. doi:10.1126/science.1153847
• 2.^ [Biotic and Human Vulnerability to Projected Changes in Ocean Biogeochemistry over the 21st Century by Mora et al. Plos Biology, 11 e1001682, 2013 doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001682
• 3.^ Ocean Dead Zones Growing; May Be Linked to Warming National Geographic News, May 1, 2008
• 4.^ A problem without a name The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, Oct 13, 2008

External links

• Ocean Deoxygenation
• NASA: Ocean Deoxygenation: Past, Present, and Future (2012)