Get the latest tech news
The World’s Oceans Are Hurtling Toward a Breaking Point
Climate change, pollution, and fishing are pushing oceans closer to their limits at an unprecedented rate. The pressure of that human impact is expected to double by 2050, according to a new study.
An international team, led by the National Center for Ecosystem Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has modeled how the pressure placed on the world’s oceans could change in the future. Halpern and his team, in cooperation with Nelson Mandela University in South Africa, integrated 17 datasets from around the world to create a comprehensive global model of the extent and intensity of the impacts of human activities on the ocean. Researchers warn that this cumulative impact will then hit society—for instance, by lowering food supplies, killing off jobs in tourism and fishing, flooding low-lying lands, and destroying coral reefs that protect coastlines from storm surges and tsunamis.
Or read this on Wired
