Humans’ rising impact on the oceans
Total human impact on the world's oceans. Data taken from Halpern et al., (2015) and adapted by Rosamund Pearce, Carbon Brief.Stark new research shows the extent to which humans are affecting the oceans, with only the most remote corners emerging relatively unscathed. Nowhere is without human influence entirely, says the study in Nature Communications, and nearly the entire surface of the ocean (97.7%) suffers under more than one pressure.
Climate change “dominates humanity’s footprint” on the oceans, coming in above commercial fishing, pollution, and shipping, the authors conclude. The scientists found that nearly 66 percent of the ocean and 77 percent of the ocean within national jurisdictions showed increased human impact over the five-year study period, driven mostly by climate change pressures. Only 13 percent of the ocean within national boundaries was unchanged or experienced decreasing impacts. In addition, approximately 5 percent of the ocean has been heavily impacted, facing increasing pressures, while 10 percent has experienced low impact to date as well as decreasing pressures.
Kimberly A. Selkoe, affiliated with the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), is one of the co-authors.
Read more about it in The Carbon Brief and the UCSB press release.