Ocean experts meet in Wellington to discuss climate change impacts

Hundreds of ocean experts are gathering in Wellington to discuss the impacts of climate change on marine environments, specifically focusing on ocean acidification and rising carbon dioxide levels. Experts warn that acidification poses a significant threat to marine ecosystems by making it difficult for organisms with calcium carbonate shells and skeletons to grow.

Dr. Pete Russell, an oceanographer from the University of Otago, highlighted the phenomenon of massive plankton blooms following tropical storms. He is working on a global catalogue of these events to better understand their role in marine food chains and their potential to be preserved as marine snow on the seafloor, which could provide historical data on cyclone activity in warming oceans.

Dr. Christopher Cornwall of Victoria University of Wellington, serving as the conference chair, noted that these climate-driven changes represent major threats to the marine ecosystems of Aotearoa.