Declining oxygen in the global ocean and coastal waters

TitleDeclining oxygen in the global ocean and coastal waters
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2018
AuthorsBreitburg, D, Levin, LA, Oschlies, A, Grégoire, M, Chavez, FP, Conley, DJ, Garçon, V, Gilbert, D, Gutiérrez, D, Isensee, K, Jacinto, GS, Limburg, KE, Montes, I, Naqvi, SWA, Pitcher, GC, Rabalais, NN, Roman, MR, Rose, KA, Seibel, BA, Telszewski, M, Yasuhara, M, Zhang, J
JournalScience
Volume359
Issue6371
Paginationeaam7240
Date Published2018/01/05
Abstract

As plastic waste pollutes the oceans and fish stocks decline, unseen below the surface another problem grows: deoxygenation. Breitburg et al. review the evidence for the downward trajectory of oxygen levels in increasing areas of the open ocean and coastal waters. Rising nutrient loads coupled with climate change—each resulting from human activities—are changing ocean biogeochemistry and increasing oxygen consumption. This results in destabilization of sediments and fundamental shifts in the availability of key nutrients. In the short term, some compensatory effects may result in improvements in local fisheries, such as in cases where stocks are squeezed between the surface and elevated oxygen minimum zones. In the longer term, these conditions are unsustainable and may result in ecosystem collapses, which ultimately will cause societal and economic harm.

URLhttp://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6371/eaam7240.abstract
DOI10.1126/science.aam7240
Short TitleScience