Scripps-led review calls for aquatic deoxygenation to be recognized as a critical planetary process under threat.
Scripps-led review calls for aquatic deoxygenation to be recognized as a critical planetary process under threat.
A new review paper led by scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography warns that the rapid loss of oxygen from the ocean and other aquatic ecosystems is pushing Earth toward an “unsafe space,” with consequences that could be irreversible on human timescales.
The study reviews the widespread interactions between aquatic deoxygenation — the decline of dissolved oxygen in the ocean (ocean deoxygenation), coastal waters, rivers, lakes and streams — and the nine processes outlined by the Planetary Boundaries framework. First introduced in 2009, the framework identifies critical Earth system processes and the ways human activities are pushing them beyond the conditions needed to keep the planet stable and resilient.
The nine planetary boundaries are climate change, ocean acidification, biodiversity loss, atmospheric aerosol loading, stratospheric ozone depletion, freshwater change, land-use change, chemical pollution and biogeochemical flows (including the nitrogen cycle). The authors propose adding dissolved oxygen conditions to the framework.
Read More: University of California, San Diego
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