The Sea Warming

<Global Influence>

1) A typhoon intensified by rising sea temperatures

        The Korea Meteorological Administration analyzed the intensity of typhoons from 2009 to 2018, and found that the frequency of very strong typhoons with a maximum wind speed of more than 44 meters per second accounted for 50%. The IPCC predicted that a stronger typhoon would form in the future. As the temperature of the sea level rises and the water vapor in the lower troposphere increases, the supply of water vapor to the typhoon is abundant. They also predicted that the frequency of typhoons would decrease. Because global warming causes temperatures in the upper troposphere to become warmer than those in the lower troposphere, stabilizing the atmosphere.

        A typhoon develops into a huge low pressure system
with convective clouds formed in the sea near the equator.
It receives water vapor from the sea and moves to high
altitude while maintaining its strength. The main energy
of typhoons is latent heat released by vapor evaporated from the sea as it condenses into clouds. Since the energy source of the typhoon is water vapor, as the temperature of the sea level rises and the amount of seawater evaporation increases, more energy is supplied to the typhoon, and the strength of the typhoon is gradually strengthened. In addition, the occurrence of typhoons increases by supplying more thermal energy to typhoons due to rising sea temperatures.

        An example of a super typhoon caused by rising sea temperatures is Hurricane Aida. Hurricane Aida made landfall in the United States on August 16, 2021. Hurricane Ida is a Category 4 hurricane and is considered the fifth most powerful hurricane in history when it landed on the U.S. mainland. Category 4 hurricanes are the second strongest. As Aida became weaker and weaker after landing, she fell to second grade at a maximum speed of 175 kilometers per hour. Aida has caused great damage to Europe, including many deaths, missing people and huge amounts of damage. The death toll has reached 240, with $43 billion in disaster damage. The power grid was cut off in Texas, USA, causing $23 billion in damage. Additionally, Aida halted all operations at oil production facilities and paralyzed maritime transport in Louisiana and Mississippi, which border the Gulf of Mexico. According to the U.S. Safe Environment Enforcement Administration, 300 oil and gas facilities have been shut down.

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2) Marine acidification

        The hydrogen ion index of the ocean is usually weakly
basic at pH 7.5 to 8.4. However, as carbon dioxide melts in
seawater, the hydrogen ion index in the sea is decreasing.
This phenomenon is called Marine acidification. Marine
acidification is aphenomenon in which about a quarter
of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is absorbed
into the ocean, resulting in an increase in the concentration
of hydrogen ions in seawater and a decrease in pH. Ocean acidification occurs to maintain the equilibrium of atmospheric and ocean carbon dioxide concentrations. Carbon dioxide and water react to form HCO3- and H+. After the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of the ocean decreased by pH 0.1 over 250 years. Today, it is progressing more than 100 times faster than past acidification.

        Marine acidification causes the extinction of calcium carbonate-based marine organisms by melting their skeletons or forming abnormal skeletons. It will also seriously affect the food chain, biodiversity, and fisheries resources. Hydrogen ions react with carbonate ions to produce bicarbonate, which is a necessary element in making calcium carbonate. As a result, carbonate ions decrease, and the equilibrium of the concentration of carbonation in seawater moves, resulting in a decrease in calcium carbonate. Marine life in the water is sensitive to pH changes, so even small changes act as a big stressor. Marine acidification causes decreased growth of sharks, salmon, and large thorn meat, damage to sensory function, and changes in neurotransmitter function. The World Resources Research Institute says 90% of all coral reefs will be threatened by 2030 due to ocean acidification. Coral reefs provide food and income to about 500 million people. Ocean acidification will deplete human food and lead to future food shortages.

 

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