Global Warming

Science Daily:

Marine and freshwater organisms could be facing damage due to increasing levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, according to a United Nations (UN) commissioned review....

Aquatic ecosystems produce over half the biomass of the Earth and are an integral part of the planet’s biosphere.

The international team behind the review is worried that the depleted ozone layer has exposed these ecosystems to harmful levels of UV radiation, particularly in polar regions where the ozone layer is the thinnest.

There could also be wider implications for climate change, since if UV damage cuts marine ecosystem productivity, the oceans’ capacity to mop up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide would fall. This extra atmospheric CO2 could then add to global warming.