The impact of ocean warming on marine organisms

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution during the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth centuries, there has been rapidly increasing release of greenhouse gases, notably CO₂, into the atmosphere. As a consequence of this atmospheric change, the Earth’s average surface temperature has increased by approximately 0.6 °C over the last 100 years. The rate of release of greenhouse gases continues to increase, and global surface temperature rose by approximately 0.2 °C per decade in the last 30 years, a rate that is greater than at any other time during the last 1,000 years. The wide-ranging effects of these increases in greenhouse gases and temperature on the biosphere are subject to intense scientific study. Much has been learned, but much more needs to be elucidated, if we are to predict how terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems will be affected by global change. This brief review focuses on the marine environment and offers a concise summary of some of the important advances in our knowledge about the impacts of global change, including physical and chemical changes of the ocean, as well as the impact of ocean warming on marine organisms. Our analysis also points out areas where critical new information is needed if we are to predict the future of marine ecosystems in a warming world with accuracy.