The exhilarating power of the sea, and it’s an important sink for carbon, too
he Sussex coast has offered me many an exhilarating walk with the power of the sea, the strong winds blowing away thoughts and cobwebs whilst watching the birds that feed, swooping in and out of this powerful expanse of salt water that covers most of the earth’s surface surrounding landmasses.
I asked Sussex Wildlife Trust’s expert Sarah Ward, the Living Seas officer, of the importance these coastal regions plan in the world chemistry: “The sea and the coast are not only a wonderful place to visit and enjoy, but they provide a number of hugely important and valuable services to life as we know it. Of course, the sea provides us with many resources, such as a source of protein through fish and other seafood, raw materials (such as shingle used for building), and fuels.
“More and more we are using the sea and coastline for energy and many novel medical uses have also been found from sea creatures and their habitats.
“Perhaps most significantly, the sea is an enormous sink for carbon. This means that it is acting as a
Tnatural reservoir which absorbs and stores the atmosphere’s carbon through both physical and biological processes. Many modern-day industries churn out huge amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) like aviation, so without the sea absorbing some of this, the earth would heat up much more quickly and the associated effects of climate change would be accelerated.
“The way in which climate change affects the ocean is a complicated business, the key consequences being changes in water temperature, ocean acidification, and deoxygenation. In turn, this causes rising sea levels and changes in the abundance, diversity and geography of marine organisms.
“Changes in temperature can cause species to change their geographical extent, in order to stay within a comfortable temperature range. There are a number of species which are monitored as ‘climate change indicator species’, many of which we find here in Sussex, including snakelocks anemones, sea oak and top shells.
“Snakelocks anemones, for example, are understood to be becoming more common in
Britain and extend their range further north and east as the water temperature increases.
“Climate change is a concerning matter, something we are now aware of in daily life. The effects of climate change have the potential to drastically alter life as we know it, particularly if the cumulative effects on the oceans weaken the performance of essential processes at the coast and out to sea.
“One positive step has been a coastal region plan that is underway to re-establish seagrass meadows to help absorb carbon as our natural seagrass beds have diminished over the years.
“They are not the sole answer but could be as effective as rain forests in absorbing carbon.
“We can all think about ways in which we can reduce our carbon footprint, like opting for public transport and reducing energy consumption in the home but to pledge to fly less would be a major positive step to take.”
For more information about our Living Seas work and related events, see https:// sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/whatwe-do/living-seas