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The EastAfrican Date: 02.05.2016 Page 27 Article size: 237 cm2 ColumnCM: 52.66 AVE: 79000.00 'Not enough oxygen for marine life' By CHRIS M00NEY The Washington Post IN THE long list of trou expand the number of areas bling climate change sce sometimes called "oxygen narios, there's one that gets minimum zones" where relatively little attention, plants, fish and other or but definitely has enormous ganisms would struggle to survive. potential consequences. It goes like this: The Now, in the new study, oceans are getting warm Long and his colleagues er. This raises the sea level have found that some parts and as a result reduces the of the ocean are already amount of oxygen dissolved likely to be showing an oxy in the water. gen deficiency, due to the But it's worse: If surface effects of global warming. water is warmer, it doesn't And by around 2030, the mix down as much into the human role in driving wide ocean depths any longer. spread ocean oxygen loss "What's happening is, will be even more apparent there's a physical mecha if greenhouse gas emissions nism that impedes the de continue unchecked. livery of surface waters into "Its fairly widespread de the interior," said Matthew tection....is basically evident Long, an oceanographer in the 2030s to 2040s dec with the National Centre for Atmospheric Research who is lead author of a trou ade," Long said. And that could have ma lem. "A major concern is that these socalled oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) will expand in the future as the upper ocean warms and becomes more strati fied," wrote the Scripps In stitution of Oceanography's Ralph Keeling and two col leagues in 2010. But what's new about the current study is the use of a sophisticated climate change modeling process to try to determine precise ly when a less oxygenrich ocean will manifest itself in a way that can be attributed to humaninduced climate change. The new study thus aims to solve this "signaltonoise problem," using a highpow ered climate model that couples together both the atmosphere and ocean. The authors ran multiple simula viable habitat for a host of tions, starting in the year organisms. 1920 and running through The problem will be se the year 2100 — a key as vere in deeper waters of coauthored with Curtis sumption being that global what the study calls the Deutsch of the University of "ocean interior," which will emissions remain at a high Washington and Taka Ito no longer receive as much of level throughout the cen of the Georgia Institute of tury. This approach allowed an exchange of oxygenrich Technology. for a statistical detection of waters with the surface. The problem is that ma when ocean oxygen trends Long's isn't the first re bling new study on what scientists call the "deoxy genation" of the oceans. The work appeared in Glo bal Biogeochemical Cycles, rine life needs oxygen. If there's less of it, that could jor consequences for marine organisms: A contraction of port to warn of this prob move decisively downward due to climate change. If there's less of oxygen, that could expand the number of areas sometimes called "oxygen minimum zones" where ocean organisms would struggle to survive. Picture: AFP Ipsos Kenya Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road Lavington Nairobi Kenya