<
https://theconversation.com/how-much-do-marine-heatwaves-cost-the-economic-losses-amount-to-billions-and-billions-of-dollars-170008>
"Marine heatwaves are catastrophic impacts of climate change many of us are
already familiar with. But how much do they cost society?
During marine heatwaves, ocean temperatures can become so high that many
species become stressed, or die. Critical coastal habitats, such as seagrass
meadows, corals and kelp forests, can die out, limiting their natural capacity
to store carbon dioxide and disrupting fisheries and tourism.
Until now, we’ve not understood how much society loses during marine heatwaves.
This is what our new research, published in
Science, sought to find out.
We looked at 34 marine heatwaves worldwide, and found one event in 2016 in
southern Chile cost more than US$800 million (A$1.07 billion) in direct losses
to aquaculture (cultivating aquatic plants and animals for food). Another
heatwave in Shark Bay, Western Australia, resulted in US$3.1 billion (A$4.14
billion) per year in indirect losses, as a result of lost carbon storage when
seagrass beds were impacted.
As world leaders prepare to meet for COP26 in Glasgow, they must keep these
intensifying marine heatwaves front of mind. They are not only a stress test
for the ocean’s ecosystems, but also for millions of people who rely on them –
and who are already suffering."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
