Christina Nau - SL2 Explore Methods for CO2 Emissions Reductions

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2001C

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Geography

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Oct 30, 2023

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Christina Nau Professor Arellano OCE-2001-650 6 September 2023 Salinity Current Event in Oceanography While this is not new news, humans are affecting the ocean daily by contributing to global warming. The salinity on planet Earth is being affected by global warming and its toll is starting to affect the ocean, climate, and weather. Research is starting to show that evaporation, precipitation, and salt concentrations, along with global warming are accelerating Earth’s water cycle leading to climate and weather changes around the world (Berwyn). Salinity, also referred to as salt concentration, is a measure of how much water is added and removed from a body of water (Berwyn). The main causes of salinity changes in the ocean are through evaporation and precipitation. Evaporation and precipitation are two main stages of the water cycle, a process that brings water from the ocean into the atmosphere, and back down to land again. Evaporation is when water turns from a liquid to a gas, and precipitation is when water is returned to land through a liquid or solid state. Global warming is increasing the amount of water moving through the water cycle by evaporation and precipitation by a rough 2 to 4 percent for every 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit of warming (Berwyn). This means that more water is evaporating, leaving more salt debris behind on our land and in our waterways, as well as more water is being released as a precipitate. Since there is too much evaporation and precipitation in some areas, some environments are becoming harsh for organisms to live in, since there is an increase in rain, snow, flooding, and drought. Some regional changes in salinity, as discussed in the article are seawater density and the saltwater adaptation of ocean organisms. Around the world, seawater

density is being affected by temperature, and sea life is being forced to adapt to the salty water conditions. Salinity affects ocean density, which determines the distribution of warm and cold layers of water in the ocean, and impacts ocean circulation, tropical storms, ocean oxygen levels, and nutrients in the upper ocean (Berwyn). Saltwater is heavy so it tends to fall from the surface of the water to the ocean floor, whereas freshwater is lighter and wants to stay near the top of the surface. However global warming is warming the ocean water itself, while also melting ice, which is adding freshwater into the ocean, making the ocean less dense in some areas. Long term, nutrients would not be uplifted to the surface for sea life to consume, and climate change would be affected drastically. Furthermore, sea life is having to adapt to a saltier ocean which in turn could end up killing all marine life. While all species can adapt to their surroundings to survive, sometimes living conditions are simply unlivable and if the ocean becomes too salty, most sea life can perish. Small zooplankton to large whales in our ocean must adapt to the water they live in, but serious health issues and death can arise if the water they live in becomes too salty. A saltier sea would prevent reproduction, change behavior, and end survival, especially if the ocean became denser. Saltier ocean water affects the ecosystem’s food chain, as well as climate. We, as humans, rely on the food chain to live, as well as all other things on this planet. If the ocean were saltier, species could be severely harmed and may even die, which could cause a ripple effect in our food chain. Primary consumers such as zooplankton would perish, so the fish, shrimp, and other animals that feed on them would slowly die off as well. With a death that low in the food chain, the whole chain itself would be affected since the producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, and apex predators would all die off eventually. Overall, the food chain would suffer immensely if the ocean became saltier since nothing would be able to survive. The climate would also be affected if the ocean was saltier

since the water would not be circulated enough, resulting in higher and lower temperatures globally. If the ocean became too warm, the sea level would rise, coral bleaching would occur, ice sheets would melt, and hurricanes would form more, and if the ocean became too cold, some parts of the ocean would form ice and species would die off. The climate getting too cold or too hot is a big factor for our oceans, and our atmosphere would feel the effect as well. Lastly, changes in salinity are related to changes in ocean circulation since the salt in the ocean is what drives the motions. What I mean by this is if the seawater became too dense, the cold-dense water would not sink anymore, which would not allow warm and cold water to mix like usual. Ocean circulation is responsible for the movement of heat, nutrients, and freshwater around the world, in which salinity is a big factor. Changes in salinity would affect the water being circulated, which would stop the movement of heat, freshwater, and nutrients around the world, leading to different climates and ecosystems. An example is the AMOC, or Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation process which circulates water from the North to the South and back. If the ocean water became too salty or dense, the water would not be able to circulate, and no warm freshwater would be able to circulate as well. This downfall would cause the AMOC to collapse, as well as other water circulation systems in our ocean. Long story short, ocean salinity is vital to Mother Earth, and it's off balance due to global warming created by human beings, meaning that we need to desperately make a change soon.

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Works Cited Berwyn, Bob. “Changing Patterns of Ocean Salt Levels Give Scientists Clues to Extreme Weather on Land.” Inside Climate News , 14 Sept. 2020, insideclimatenews.org/news/14092020/ocean-saltwater-climate-change-extreme- weather/. Accessed 6 Sept. 2023.