The Effects of Global Warming on Wetlands

892 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Short note on rise in sea levels and it's effect

The Effects of Global Warming on Wetlands

Introduction

Wetlands are highly productive ecosystems. Wetlands include marshes, estuaries, bogs, fens, swamps, deltas, shallow seas, and floodplains. Wetland habitats support a vast range of plant and animal life, and serve a variety of important functions, which include water regime regulation, flood control, erosion control, nursery areas for fishes, fish production, recreation, plant production, aesthetic enjoyment, and wildlife habitat. Wetlands account for about 6% of the global land area and are among the most valuable environmental resources.

The Problem

The potential impacts of climate change on wetlands are of great concern. Increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released by human activities are generally expected to warm the Earth a few degrees (C) in the next century by a mechanism known as the "greenhouse effect." Such warming could raise sea level by expanding ocean water, melting mountain glaciers, and eventually causing polar ice sheets to side into the oceans. Among the coastal areas of greatest risk in the United States are those low-lying coastal habitats that are easily eroded and which occur along the northern Gulf of Mexico and southern Atlantic coasts of the U.S. These coastal wetlands are especially vulnerable to direct, large-scale impacts of climate change, primarily because of their sensitivity to sea-level rise.

Observational records indicate that sea level has already risen between 10 and 25 cm globally over the past 100 years. In addition, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has projected a sea-level rise of 15-95 cm as a consequence of global warming. Sea-level rise will also increase the depth of coastal waters and increase inland and upstream salinity intrusion, both of which affect fresh and brackish water wetlands. Sea-level rise has the potential for increasing the severity of storm surges, particularly in areas where coastal habitats and barrier shorelines are rapidly deteriorating. These direct consequences of global- and regional-scale changes will increase the vulnerability of coastal wetlands which are already heavily impacted by human activities.

Analysis of sites in five coastal states indicate that many marshes and mangrove ecosystems receive adequate mineral sediments to produce enough organic sediment and root material to remain above sea level at the present rate of sea-level rise (1-2 mm per year globally). However, three of the twelve wetlands studied were not keeping pace with the current rate of sea-level rise. If sea-level rise accelerates, some additional sites would also begin to slowly deteriorate and submerge.

Show More
Related

  • Abiotic Factors Of The Louisiana Coastline

    1666 Words  | 4 Pages

    Over the past 100 years the Louisiana coastline has suffered greatly from biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic factors. The abiotic factors include things such as hurricanes or overnutrition that influence the surrounding biota. The biotic factors that contribute to coastal erosion are things like the immigration invasive species and the emigration or extinction of local flora and fauna that help preserve the wetlands. Additionally, there are anthropogenic factors such as pollution that can have strong negative influences on the abiotic and biotic factors of the wetlands. Each one of these factors cause ecological disturbances to the wetlands at a frequency and intensity that is unmanageable for the local flora and fauna. There are currently certain measures that are being taken into consideration to slow or stop the erosion of the Louisiana coastline.

    Read More

  • Intertidal Wetlands Essay

    2699 Words  | 6 Pages

    They also look after the quality of coastal waters by watering down, sifting, and settling deposits, left-over nutrients and contaminants. They are highly productive ecosystems and provide habitats and act as nurseries for all manner of life.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Wetland Habitat Evaluation

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    Westfields, a medium sized wetland region, is located on the outskirts of Limerick city and within the floodplain of the River Shannon (CAAS (Environmental Services) Ltd., 1999). Wetland regions are broadly defined within the Ramsar Convention (1971, 1), as, “areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt including areas of marine water, the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres.” Identified as some of the most diverse habitats on earth, wetlands are also under severe threat, with a “10% decrease in their area occurring worldwide between the years 1990 and 2006” (CORINE, 2006). Westfields is no exception. Known worldwide for the diverse flora and fauna, in particular avifauna, that are present, the area has seen a dramatic decrease in size from its traditional expansive domain to a present area of twenty-six hectares. Thus, this essay aims to examine in detail the biogeographic merits of these declining wetland regions in particular Westfields, record the current condition of this particular wetland, and explore potential ideas for future conservation.

    Read More

  • Essay On Everglades

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Everglades, classified as a wetland or a "transition zone" can support plant and animal life unlike any other place. Wetlands are an important resource for endangered species and "that more than one third of the United States' threatened and endangered species live only in wetlands." Says Elaine Mao, the author of Wetlands and Habitat Loss. People have started to notice the importance and the role of wetlands like the Everglades and how they are valuable and essential for ecosystems to live. Wetlands provide so many kinds of plants, mammals, reptiles, birds, and

    Read More

  • Why The Florida Everglades Ecosystem

    519 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin with, the Florida Everglades provides a place for different species to live. According to Wetlands and Habitat Loss, wetlands can support a wide diversity of plants, fish, reptiles, mammals, and birds due to their special qualities (Mao 2). For example, the Florida Everglades contain populations of opossums,

    Read More

  • Saving the Ballona Wetlands

    2376 Words  | 5 Pages

    Before development exploded in California, the state contained about 5 million acres of wetland habitat. Unfortunately, over the years California has been willing to part with 91 percent of its wetlands, Southern California having lost 95 percent. Los Angeles County has only one wetland remaining. This being the Ballona Wetlands located between Marina del Rey and the Westchester bluffs, it was once a major part of California’s natural wetland systems. Before development, Ballona wetlands natural habitat covered 2002 acres. This area, 800 to 1000 acres, referred to as Playa Vista by its owners is made up of salt marsh freshwater marsh and part upland and dune areas. It is considered Los Angeles’ largest ‘wetland ecosystem’. Although degraded over the years it still functions as a normal natural wetland - providing vital services. A major function it provides is that it filters out toxic wastes and pollutants from stormwater runoff before they reach the Santa Monica Bay. It is "a coastal plain, and acts as a flood plain for the surrounding area" (FOBW Information folder 1998: Fact Sheet). Ballona is an integral part of the Pacific flyaway, providing vital feeding and nesting habitat for over 185 species of birds, including some on the federal endangered species list. The southwestern willow flycatcher, an endangered species, was just recently seen by developers in an area cleared for construction. Ballona is no doubt a welcomed refuge to all species, both flora and fauna, from the industrial landscape of Los Angeles. The Friends of Ballona Wetlands have said it is "a spawning ground for commercial and sport fish, and a vital source of nutrients for the entire coastal marine environment" (FOBW Information folder 1998: 20 years of C...

    Read More

  • Beaver Water Chemistry

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the area of the Great Lakes, eastern Georgian Bay houses thousands of miles of marshlands and wetlands. These areas are some of the most threatened habitats in the world because they form where human development is highly concentrated, near the coast. Yet, the uninhabited wetlands are sometimes taken over by beaver dams. The water chemistry of these marshes depends on their location and connection with other bodies of water. Scientists Amanda Fracz and Patricia Chow-Fraser hypothesized that open wetlands

    Read More

  • Chesapeake Bay Greenhouse Effects

    1559 Words  | 4 Pages

    Some islands right in our backyards are slipping away before our eyes. According to Conservation International the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, as of 2016, is the highest in 3 million years. Global warming will melt many Glaciers that will affect sea level and the Islands around the world including the Chesapeake Bay. Many Islands will no longer exist due to sea level rise and flooding’s. Global warming is when the temperature gradually increases, generally accredited to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants. Pollutants will cause acid rain which will pollute the water and kill off the animals that drink the water.

    Read More

  • The Loss of Coastal Wetlands

    588 Words  | 2 Pages

    Globally coastal wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate, the problem is most of society does not realize the value of these precious wetlands. Coastal wetlands provide an important role in the coastal ecosystem. “Coastal wetlands provide critical services such as absorbing energy from coastal storms, preserving shorelines, protecting human populations and infrastructure, supporting commercial seafood harvests, absorbing pollutants and serving as critical habitat for migratory bird populations”(Anonymous, 2011). Coastal wetlands are an economical asset as well as an environmental one.

    Read More

  • The Animal's Impact On The Everglades

    600 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 18th and 19th centuries, drainage of the wetlands was an idea. From then on, human activities like agriculture and building have been the center of elimination for these wetlands. Pollution has also been a factor in this, along with natural

    Read More

  • Benefits Of Protecting The Everglades

    416 Words  | 1 Pages

    In a different passage by Elaine Mao called, "Wetlands and Habitat Loss" the author explains, "...wetlands are also essential to the state's fishing industry, providing a habitat for fish, shrimp, oysters and crabs. -- Approximately one in every 70 jobs in the state is related to the fishing industry. The destruction of wetlands would have disastrous consequences for the economy of the area and the livelihoods of many Louisiana's residents." Destruction of a wetland wouldn't do humans very good at all. We need the wetlands for jobs, most seafood, and the economy. Which is why we must treat them with

    Read More

  • Rights to Water

    1231 Words  | 3 Pages

    Between 300 and 400 million people worldwide live in areas near wetlands and depend on them. Wetlands are mechanisms for treatment of wastewater are extremely efficient because they absorb chemicals and filter pollutants and sediments. Half the world's wetlands have disappeared due to urbanization and industrial development. The only way to achieve sustainable development and poverty reduction will be through better management of rivers and wetlands, and the land they drain and drain as well as through increased investment in them.

    Read More

  • Climate Change and The Rise in Sea Level

    2057 Words  | 5 Pages

    According to the World Bank Development Report 2013 there has been an increase in global surface temperature of 0.4 to 0.9 Celsius (C) in the past 100 years. This change in temperature largely caused, according to the IPCC, by the release of GHGs through human activities. There are several effects associated to the change in global temperature, mainly affecting ecosystems and populations worldwide. Among these effects or consequences are sea-level rise, drought, floods, loss of mangroves, and the intensification of storms and climate processes such as El Nino and La Nina. Recent studies have focused on sea-level rise and the global effects. Over the past 100 years, sea levels have increased by 10 to 20 centimeters (World Bank, 2003). Moreover, arctic sea-ice has continued to shrink up to 10 percent or more of its total mass and by 40 percent of its thickness. Glaciers and small ice caps are rapidly melting, causing several changes in the flows of rivers and ecosystems, as well as adding to the increase of sea levels. Sea level rise will most likely severely affect unprepared, developing countries and their populations. Concomitantly, developed industrial countries with higher levels of GDP are likely to cope more efficiently with the effects of sea level rise. This paper will focus on the prognosticated socio-economic costs of s...

    Read More

  • Rising Sea Levels

    1257 Words  | 3 Pages

    Scientists appear to have become aware of the issue of rising sea levels in the mid to late 1980s. An article published in Science News in 1987 predicted that “global warming… will cause… the world's oceans to expand, raising the average sea level by 4 to 8 centimeters in the next 40 years” (Monastersky). Though 4 to 8 centimeters sounds like a miniscule amount in relation to the vastness of the world’s oceans, this early article disturbed many readers. Many for this reason: early stud...

    Read More

  • Global Warming Is A Global Issue

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the major effects of global warming is the rise of sea level due to thermal expansion of the ocean, in addition to the melting of land ice. Now there are dozens of land areas that sit well below sea level and the majority of those land areas are very well populated. At least 40 percent of the world 's population lives within 62 miles of the ocean, putting millions of lives and billions of dollars ' worth of property and infrastructure at risk. (Juliet Christian-Smith, 2011) This means if the sea level rises to the projected level of 25 meters (82 feet) half of the world will retreat back to the ocean. (Rohrer, 2007) Also rising sea levels means higher tides and storm surges riding on ever-higher seas which are more dangerous to people and coastal inf...

    Read More

More about The Effects of Global Warming on Wetlands

Open Document