The Norwegian Institute for Water Research and Akvaplan have studied how climate change affects the climate along the Norwegian coast, and what the changes mean for five selected species: coastal cod, king crab, Atlantic salmon, greater dry-back sea urchin. The report shows that all five species will relocate, and that they will eventually retreat and seek “refuge” in the northern region. Worst of all, it affects the larger species, which may become completely extinct in southern Norway. Kelp forests along the coast are productive ecosystems with great species richness. Several species, including cod and pollock, are completely dependent on the kelp forests for survival. Temperature in the world since 1880 compared to the average in the period 1991-2020 +0.5°C compared to normal? Click for explanation normal temperature 18801900192019401960198020002020Go to news’s Climate Status Why are most years blue and colder than normal? This is because all years are now compared with a new normal, i.e. the average weather in the 30-year period 1991-2020. These 30 years have been unusually warm. Most other years are therefore colder than normal. Until recently, researchers used a normal period that ran from 1961-1990. In these years it was relatively cold. It’s been quite a while since the 1960s and the new normal allows us to compare the weather with the climate (normal) that people actually experience today. The normal period is determined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and is used in all countries . In this way, we can compare the weather in Norway with other countries and we can measure changes across the globe. How can you calculate one temperature for the whole world? This number is the result of a complicated calculation. Measurements are made with thermometers both on land and on the sea surface (at sea the thermometers are attached to buoys). In some places the thermometers are close together, in other places they are far apart. Using a statistical method, the researchers are able to give the measurements different weights, so that all areas are equally important: The data used in this graph comes from the American NOAA. They have divided the globe into squares of 5° x 5° and calculate one temperature for each square. Then they can again work their way up to a global figure, for each month or for each year. They can also make figures for the temperature only over the ocean or only over land, or for the northern and southern hemispheres. The lines at the poles are smaller than along the equator due to the curvature of the globe. The researchers also take this into account in their calculations. Others, such as NASA or the Hadley Centre, calculate in slightly different ways than NOAA. Therefore, there are often small differences between the various data sets. In any case, the trend they show is the same: since 1880, the world has become warmer. – More important than ever to introduce measures – Norway is the country in Europe with the most kelp forests, and they have an important role in storing carbon. This is therefore worrying, says environment director Ellen Hambro. The study is in line with reports from the UN Climate Panel (IPCC) and the International Panel on Nature (Ipbes) that marine species have moved several hundred kilometers since the fifties. Every four years the government must submit a plan for how the marine area is to be managed. Hambro adds that it is “more important than ever to introduce measures to limit the negative effects and take climate into account in coastal management”. Marine ecosystems produce more than half of the oxygen we breathe, and contribute to keeping the temperature on earth in balance. news wrote earlier this week about how “kelp watchers” have managed to rehabilitate 2,000 square meters of seabed from the “seagull desert” to kelp forest (see graphic below). The sea urchins lost their natural enemies in the seventies, when species such as cod, catfish, lobster and crab disappeared due to overfishing. According to the study, coastal cod and Atlantic salmon will find their own habitat along the coast, even if the quality of the habitat becomes worse. – Climate change means that the habitat for the coastal cod will deteriorate in the long term in southern Norway, and that has a lot to say for the population of coastal cod, says Trond Kristiansen, project manager at Niva. In the study, they looked at the species in the adult stage. – At the same time, we know that in the egg and larval stages they are probably more vulnerable to climate change, and that this could be a bottleneck for the fish in the future, says Kristiansen. About the report The report was completed before Christmas, but has not been published until now. The vulnerability analysis is based on two steps: statistical downscaling of global climate models for the entire Norwegian coast and an assessment of whether the current habitat for the species will continue to be suitable habitat until the turn of the century. The effects of climate change in the coastal zone are very complex and create changes in the marine ecosystems on top of other local human activity. The analysis has not considered the total burden from all these impacts. Changing food access as a result of climate change is not considered in the study. The report is part of the technical basis for the management plans for Norwegian sea areas Consequences of increasing sea temperatures When the temperature in water increases, the amount of oxygen in the water is reduced. It is vulnerable to the marine species that depend on oxygen for respiration, i.e. to exchange air and carbon dioxide through their gills. A rise in temperature will also cause the need for food to increase due to the species using more energy (increased metabolic rate). An increase in energy demand can to some extent be compensated by the species changing its behavior and spending more time to secure enough nutrition. The cost of changing behavior is that the species risks being eaten itself or not using energy for reproduction. Species have a species-specific temperature range within which they can live. If the temperature exceeds this limit, it will lead to a reduction in distribution or, in the worst case, that the species will die out if the species cannot move to new habitats. Source: Danish Environment Agency Degradation or loss of robust ecosystems can worsen climate change, and produce a negative spiral of effects. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB Wants to expand the state’s rescue list In February, a broad range of professionals advocated for supplementing the state’s rescue list with four new nature types: sugar kelp forest delta broadleaf forest ground water bog The four “new” nature types are particularly represented in Western Norway (see external map). The background was the new nature agreement from Montreal, which increases the pressure to protect several “critical or highly threatened” nature types. Today, 12 nature types are monitored through the Monitoring Plan for threatened nature. If the Norwegian Environment Agency and the rest of the professional community get what they want, the number will be 16. Secretary General of WWF, Karoline Andaur, has also called for stronger protection of stream gorges and eelgrass, a marine flower plant that grows along the entire Norwegian coast. River deltaEdellovskogGroundwater marshSugar tares forest
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New report sounds the alarm about the Norwegian coast – news Vestland
