15 Main Effects of Greenhouse to Marine Environment

For the first time, green house effect is suggested by Josep Fourier in 1824. The greenhouse effect is a warming process to a surface of space thing such as planet or satellite. This process is happened because of the composition and the condition of their atmosphere of the planet. So, the greenhouse effect isn’t only happen in Earth but also can happen to other planet such as Mars, Venus and other space material such as natural satellite of Saturn, Titan. But, in this article, we will discuss about the greenhouse effect on earth.

1. The Melting of the Ice Sheet

The melting of the ice sheet at the North and South poles. This event will be result in a rising of sea levels globally then there are a lot of number of small islands is going to sink.

For people who lives near the seashore and little island, you guys have to be aware because there is increasing sea level and there are a lot of disasters that made your land and your settlements diminish. There are a lot of rob flood caused by high tidal that can cause many damages for people settlements.

The damage of disaster will also happened to social and economic facilities of people who live at the seashore. In Indonesia, there are millions of people living in this vulnerable area. More than 60 percent of Indonesian’s population live along the coastline, stretching more than 95.000 km. So this mean that not only Indonesia settlement is going to disappear but also their livelihoods, then there is a possible for destruction of the structures and social structure that have been formed for centuries in the community of coast. Indonesia marine resource will also in a critical and threatened situation. If this happens continuously, then it can threaten the people’s lives.

Also read: Ocean Problems – effect of sea level rise

Extinction of various types of ocean animal and ocean plants.

Ocean animals and ocean plants have tolerance limits within temperature, humidity, moisture content and food sources. Greenhouse effect causing disruption of the water cycle, air humidity and impact on growth of plants thus inhibiting the rate of primary productivity. This condition is also gives the influence of habitat and life of ocean animal.

2. Animal Habitat Changes

Animal habitat changes due to changes in temperature, humidity, temperature factors and primary productivity. This change will make some animals migrate for find a suitable new place for their habitat. The bird will migration because seasonal changes, wind direction and velocity, ocean currents. In the ocean, the fish will migrate to the water that has much more nutrients and foods.The greenhouse effect can make a change in whole food chain and fishery resource in ocean.

The changing of food chain make a undesirable change of structure of fish population in ocean. This phenomenon have already seen in many place such as Indonesia. There is a shift in fish season and changing in fish ground in a particular group of fish. This changing condition isn’t limited to capture fisheries, but also aquaculture of fisheries. The quality of water become dangerous, there is increased pest disease and other disease.

3. Increased Sea Level, Tide and Erratic Wet Season

The increased of water level of ocean causing increasing of frequency and intensity of flooding. The flood will increase in frequency due to decreased river capacity due to increased surface that run off and declining capacity of rivers and reservoirs due to increased erosion and sedimentation. Globally the flood disaster records show a significant increase over the last 40 years with economic losses estimated at around US $ 300 billion in the last decade compared to just US $ 50 billion in the 1960s decade.

Coastal areas are the most vulnerable areas of sea level rise. In the last 100 years, sea level has risen between 10-25 cm. Despite the fact that it is very difficult to measure sea-level changes, these changes can be attributed to an increase in temperature during this time. Within 100 years temperature change has increased the expansion of sea water volume and increased its altitude. Similarly, the addition of sea water volume also occurs due to melting glaciers and ice in the two poles of the earth. (Read also: Marine Protected Areas)

From various scenarios, the increase ranges from 13 to 94 cm in the next 100 years. Sea level rise that has a wide impact on humans; Especially for people living in the lowlands, in densely populated coastal areas in many countries and in river deltas. Climate change can cause changes in wind direction with extremes. If the change of wind direction is accompanied by sea level rise, there will be a tidal wave. As a result, fishermen can not go to sea. Even if the fishermen are forced to leave, the risks are so great. Besides not necessarily get the fish, life becomes the stakes. Rising sea temperatures can also cause coral reefs to bleach, then die. (See also: Waves in Ocean)

4. Coral Bleaching

Coral bleaching is characterized by the loss of algae that are symbiotic with corals so that fish whose lives depend on coral reef ecosystems will migrate. The damages of coral reef because the greenhouse effect is happened in the coral reef triangle in six countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Salomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and the Philippines.

The coral’s damage will also disturbing the lives of local people who live nearby the seashore. The first victim of coral bleaching is local people. To save the coral reef damage that caused by global warming, the environmental activists of the six countries have designed adaptation protocols for salvage coral reefs.

More than 50 percent of the world’s coral species live in this triangular region so we need to take care our coral from the damage of greenhouse effect. Based on data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as many as 30 percent of the world’s coral reefs have died from el nino storms in 1998. Predicted, in the next 10 years will be back damage occurred as much as 30 percent.

Other Effects of Greenhouse (5-15)

Rising sea water temperatures. It expands both sea water and sea level rise so islands around can be affected.
The extreme climate change on earth.
Destructs forest and other natural resources.
Heat waves reflected from the surface of the earth are absorbed by the atmosphere. It gives an impact for increasing Earth’s temperature.
Threat Fishes’s proliferation.
Climate change will cause sensitive marine biota which threatened with extinction, while adaptive biota will maintain its life by adjusting to its environment.
Increase the intensity of the storm.
The occurrence of anomalies between day and night.
Eternal snow and ice at the poles continuously melt away.

Minimizing Global Warming Impacts

For our future live in the ocean and earth, we need to aware about our situation and condition in greenhouse

effect era. It also be a good thing if we know some step for protect our ocean and earth from the damage of global warming. Here are some of the step below:

1. Environmental Conservation

The conservation of environment can we do by planting many trees and greening on critical lands. Green plants have a role in the process of photosynthesis; in this process plants require carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. The accumulation of carbon gases in the atmosphere can be reduced by photosynthesis.

2. Use Alternative Energy

Using energy sourced from alternative energy can reduce the use of fossil fuel energy such as petroleum and coal. The fossil energy will produce a gas emission such as the carbon that accumulates into the atmosphere. This carbon is generated by the burning of materials fossil fuel. As we know that most of the vehicle engines and industry is driven by engines that use this fossil fuel. (See also: Effects of Ocean Currents)

Therefore other safe sources of energy from emissions of these gases, for example; using solar energy, water, wind, geothermal, and bioenergy,. In the tropics area that have much solar energy is expected to emerge a capable technology for using this energy, for example with a solar powered car, electric power Sun. Currently bioenergy is being developed, including plant seeds of Jathropa. Sp that can produces oil for engine’s energy.

3. Recycling and Energy Efficiency

The use of kerosene to ignite stove at home will producing a smoke and carbon black soot. This gas is a green house effects. Therefore, it should be replaced with gas. Biogas is a good and necessary thing to be developed. Nowadays, the biogas is made from organic waste. (See also: Types of Sea Urchins)

4. Educational Efforts

to the wider community by providing understanding and application of the following principles:

Human Dimension

Humans act as users-destroyers-nature conservationists. Man must have an awareness of the importance of nature for their life in future day. Nature has limitations over human ability to exploit nature resource itself.

Humans use nature as a source to obtain food and other social needs, but whether or not the action can be realized resulting in damage to ecosystem of nature. Therefore man must realize that human and their behavior are part of nature and the environment that can affect each other.

Law Enforcement and Exemplary

Violations for human acts that make damage to the nature and environment must be obtained a punishment. Environmental law enforcement is an important part for protect our environment from bad human act. The law can give deterrent effect for the violators. Law enforcement doesn’t look at the social strata of society. Other than that, the role model and someone that plays an important role is have a authority to give an example to love and car our nature.

They who have a better understanding or good educated towards the environment should give a good example and attitude toward the environment which is good also to the community. For example, we still find the case, that the role of some government apparatus behind forest destruction, both with provide capital and protection for forest encroachers.

Integration

All elements of society must support the efforts of environmental conservation and natural resources and law enforcement. This effort should be done comprehensively and across sectors. For example, to overcome the emission of greenhouse gases due to an increase in the number of vehicles in Jakarta city, it should be above together with the surrounding areas such as Bogor, Depok, Bekasi, and Tangerang.

Thus, workers are using motor vehicles every day to enter the city of Jakarta and they are live in that four cities. Thereby, as well as overcoming the floods in Gorontalo city, for example, can’t be overcome with pnly the improvement of environmental facilities and building awareness of the population cities, but thoroughly with communities in other regions such as upstream and river region that contributes to the flood disaster.

Society and local governments such as Bone Bolango and Regency Gorontalo is responsible for flood mitigation efforts in Gorontalo city. Geographically, there is a watershed where two a large river passes through and empties into this city. Because disaster of nature and environmental damage can’t be sorted by region administrative, but it’s depend on geographic-ecological area.

Changing Mindset and Attitude

Physical environmental factors, other living things and humans have their respective roles in the environment. Man as a being given the ability of logic should be able to view the interests of his life related to the life of other living beings and the events of the processes of natural. Human attitudes and behavior toward nature sooner or later give impact on the environment. Caring for the environment at essentially is an innate human attitude and behavior.

However the emergence of human ignorance is a different thought or perception when humans are dealing with environmental problems. Man must see that he is part of the ecosystem element and the environment. The instinct for survival will give motivation for humans to preserve the ecosystem and its environment.

Environmental Ethics

Our love and our wisdom towards the environment is our philosophy of being living in environment. Whatever our understanding of the environment and resources, we must behave wisely in life. In the form of traditional culture, local wisdom gives us direction to form an ethics and norms community in our life when utilizing natural resources and the environment. As long as people still respect traditional culture which has ethics and moral values to its natural environment, then conservation of natural resources and the environment will be success.

In the life of such societies, environmental ethics is not visible theoretical but into the lifestyle and culture maintained by each generation. Environmental ethics will be useful if it appears in real action in everyday life.

Those are complete explanation about effects of greenhouse to environment, especially marine life.