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New research suggests marine life could experience “a mass extinction rivaling those in Earth’s past” should global temperatures continue to increase at the current rate.
According toa studypublished Thursday in theSciencejournal, “mass extinctions on par with past great extinctions” are likely “based on ecophysiological limits alone” should global temperatures continue to increase at their current rate.
Water warming and oxygen depletion are among the main concerns as “global warming threatens marine biota with losses of unknown severity,” the study says.
Now, researchers believe there is “a need for rapid action to prevent possibly catastrophic marine extinctions.”
“With accelerating greenhouse gas emissions, species losses from warming and oxygen depletion alone become comparable to current direct human impacts within a century and culminate in a mass extinction rivaling those in Earth’s past,” the abstract reads.
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Curtis Deutsch, a professor of geosciences at Princeton University who co-authored the paper, toldNBC Newsthat there is little time to waste if mass extinctions among ocean life are to be avoided.
“If we don’t act to curb emissions, that extinction is quite high,” Deutsch told the outlet. “It registers on the geological scale among the major biotic collapses of diversity in the Earth’s history.”
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Deutsch told NBC News that understanding the impact that extreme climate changes have on the planet “was a real eureka moment” for researchers.
In an interview withThe New York Times, Justin L. Penn — a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton who also co-authored the study — said, “It wasn’t an ‘Aha’ moment per se. It was more of an ‘Oh my God’ moment.”
However, the study indicates that there is still time to resolve the problems facing ocean life before it’s too late. “Drastically” reducing emissions, it says, can offer “substantial protection” to ocean life.
Penn told NBC News that extinctions can be “largely avoided” should carbon emissions remain around the levels set in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
Speaking with theTimes, Deutsch said he is often asked about how “screwed” the planet is in terms of climate change. “If we don’t do anything,” he told the outlet, “we’re screwed.”
He added, “Our choices have huge impacts.”
source: people.com
