The loss of ice in Greenland and the shrinking of glaciers in other parts of the Arctic currently contribute up to 40% of the average 3 mm global sea level rise per year. A number of studies suggest that Greenland could be a major contributor to a potential rise in sea levels of 0,5 to 1 meter by the end of the century.
Year: 2013
Photographer: Peter Prokosch
Fisheries contribute to global CO2 emissions by the extraction of fish, disturbance of coastal and oceanic blue carbon ecosystems, and the use of fossil fuels as their main energy source. Fishing vessels are moreover a major source of short-lived climate forcers like black carbon (McKuin and Campbell 2016), which can have a major effect in Arctic and Northern regions (see Black carbon reduction).
Chumbe Island Coral Park Ltd. (CHICOP) is an award-winning private nature reserve that was developed from 1991 for the conservation and sustainable management of uninhabited Chumbe Island off Zanzibar, one of the last pristine coral islands in the region.
Year: 2016
Photographer: Rob Barnes
Ocean fertilization schemes seek to increase the amount of available nutrients in the top layer of the ocean to stimulate the growth of phytoplankton.
Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa.
Year: 2013
Photographer: Yannick Beadoin
The potential of carbon sequestration by marine based plants such as mangroves, seagrass and algae, often referred to as blue carbon, and the importance of better understanding it, has clearly been recognised (Mcleod et al. 2011). The IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (2019) concluded blue carbon can play an important role in both climate regulation and adaptation. The term algae groups together several kinds of marine photosynthetic organisms. These are often subdivided into very small microalgae like phytoplankton, and larger macroalgae like kelp and seaweed. Although there is still large uncertainty about the total amount of carbon sequestered by these marine organisms, a recent estimate by Duarte et al. (2022) indicated that all macroalgae took in as much CO2 as the Amazon rainforest.
The Cape Petrel, also called Cape Pigeon, is one of the most common seabirds of the Southern Ocean and around Antarctica. They have an estimated population of around 2 million. Cape Petrels feed mainly on crustacean, including krill, and are often seen following ships.
Year: 2016
Photographer: Peter Prokosch
Year: 2012
Photographer: Dimitris Poursanidis
Fishermen in Zanzibar, Tanzania
Year: 2016
Photographer: Rob Barnes
Biotic processes play an important role in oceanic carbon uptake, with most attention going to carbon-consuming photosynthesising organisms. Moore et al. (2023) argue that the potential role of shellfish and other calcifiers in carbon sequestration is significantly overlooked in the CDR literature.
South the shores of the islands outside Arendal a marine national park is in planning. The rolling stones, remains from the last ice edge is a main feature of the protection plans. The recreational value is immense. It should become a win-win for tourism and conservation.
Year: 2016
Photographer: Peter Prokosch
The Coastal Archipelago Park of the South Coast ("Sørlandet") of Norway covers an area of the Skagerak coast between Grenland in Telemark and Lindesnes in West Agder, including many hundreds of islands and skerries. The Sørland coast is one of the most important recreation areas of Norway and hosts a unique coastal ecosystem with special habitats and a rich biodiversity.
Year: 2016
Photographer: Peter Prokosch
Artificial downwelling (AD) is an idea to pump upper layer water deeper down into the ocean.
A school of juveniles of the Dusky spinefoot Siganus luridus, swim over a meadow.
Year: 2012
Photographer: Dimitris Poursanidis
Artificial upwelling (AU) is an idea to increase carbon uptake of upper ocean layers by fertilizing it with pumped-up colder nutrient-rich waters from the deep, which would encourage the biological sequestration of carbon through photosynthesis (NASEM 2022).
Seagrass Meadows in Greece
Year: 2017
Photographer: Dimitris Poursanidis
The deep waters in the Baltic are severely deoxygenated. Although the causes of the current state are complex, this is mainly a result of increased eutrophication from sewage and agricultural runoff from surrounding lands, which leads to extreme bioproductivity (Rolff et al. 2022). Some species manage to survive in the upper water layers, but many organisms living on the seafloor are severely impacted by the hypoxia, thereby influencing the health of a wide network of ecosystems and biochemical processes. There are attempts to reduce nutrient runoff into the Baltic (see for example: https://helcom.fi/baltic-sea-action-plan/). However, some argue these will be insufficient and argue for engineering solutions to the issue.
The Tromlingen islands, as a centrepiece and most valuable part of the Raet national park, are an attractive place for bird watchers, in particular in autumn, when migratory birds from the Arctic stop over on the islands.
Year: 2017
Photographer: Peter Prokosch
Carbon uptake in the ocean mainly occurs directly through ocean-atmosphere interaction or through weathering processes. Due to this uptake of carbon, the oceans turn more acidic overtime, and since the start of the industrial revolution oceans have become 30% more acidic. This has all sorts of effects as it, for example, impacts marine biochemistry, and prevents certain organisms from successfully growing.
The Ölfusá is Iceland's largest river in terms of volume (average flow of 423m3/s) and has major importance for the local salmon fishing industry.
Year: 2013
Photographer: Peter Prokosch