Climate change has an incredible and irreversible impact on the ocean and marine life. Salt water covers the majority of the earth’s surface, so global warming’s effect on the oceans has significant consequences for everyone. Below are five major ways that climate change is affecting our oceans.

1. Sea Levels are Rising

This is a more commonly known consequence of climate change.As polar ice caps melt and the seas rise, coastal areas are in danger of becoming permanently flooded. This is harmful to estuaries, where the grasses provide a natural defense of the mainland. The rising sea levels will drown these wetlands and the coasts will become extremely vulnerable.

2. Weather Patterns are Changing

Many weather events around the world are driven by ocean temperatures. The ocean currents, called gyres, act as conveyor belts that carry storms and weather patterns around the world. With the changing of currents comes the changing of weather patterns. This affects humans because warmer ocean temperatures create stronger tropical storms, which turn into hurricanes. This affects marine life because the changing weather patterns are damaging to migrating species of fish and birds alike.

3. Migration Patterns are Shifting

Due to the rising ocean temperatures, certain schools of fish are moving to areas where they were previously unable to survive. With the movement of fish, movement of fishing boats is sure to follow. This becomes a problem when the new fish create increased competition for food and other resources, while increased fishing boats add to pollution and continue to deplete the resources in the surrounding areas.

4. Coral Reefs are being Bleached

When the water around a coral reef gets too hot, the coral releases algae that turns it white. Coral and algae rely on each other for survival, but a major release of algae can permanently destroy the reefs. With the death of the coral reef comes severe consequences; the ocean loses a crucial ecosystem that harbors vast biodiversity.

5. Oceans are becoming Acidic

Following the point of bleaching coral reefs, another extreme effect that climate change has on them ocean acidification. The ocean absorbs large amounts of CO₂ and other greenhouse gasses emitted by human industrialization. While this is beneficial because it reduces the air pollution on land, the seawater itself is gradually becoming more acidic over time. This acidification not only causes damage to coral reefs, but also to sea creatures that need the calcium in the reef to form their exoskeletons or shells.