Study: Southern Ocean under human threat
SOUTHAMPTON, England, March 31 (UPI) -- The native fauna and ecology of the Southern Ocean, the vast body of water around the Antarctic continent, is under threat from human activity, researchers say.
"Although Antarctica is still the most pristine environment on Earth, its marine ecosystems are being degraded through the introduction of alien species, pollution, overfishing, and a mix of other human activities," said Sven Thatje of the University of Southampton's School of Ocean and Earth Science at the U.K. National Oceanography Center.
That conclusion is based on an extensive review by U.K. and U.S. researchers of the impacts of a wide range of human activities on the ecosystems of Antarctica, an NOC release said Thursday.
The Antarctic Treaty system, which includes environmental and fisheries management, provides an effective framework for the management and protection of the continent, but some of the threats are not being fully addressed, researchers said.
Some impacts such as pollution can be relatively localized, they said, but global climate change caused by human emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases has the potential to affect the entire Antarctic region for decades.
"Simultaneous action at local, regional and global scales is needed if we are to halt the damage being done to the marine ecosystems of the Southern Ocean," Richard Aronson, a paleoecologist at the Florida Institute of Technology, said.
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/03/31/UPI-NewsTrack-Health-and-Science-News/UPI-60191301617876/#ixzzBcXIVT7w4
