Review: One Ocean: The Changing Sea

Abstract

How will our generation be remembered? That is the guiding question presented in episode 4 of the One Ocean series. The Changing Sea takes the viewer on an exploration of the impacts of global warming and ocean acidification. Using stunning photography, graphic examples, and interviews with research scientists, this episode looks into how the oceans are changing, what is causing them to change, and what can be done to try to preserve them for future generations.The first segment is called “Strange Days in the Sea.” It discusses how climate change and the warming oceans are causing many animals to stray from their natural habitats and move to others. As a result, the ecosystems of those areas are being affected because these new creatures often are predators that kill many of the other species. The video discusses, in detail, the migration of the Humboldt squid to the North Pacific from Mexican waters. Fishermen are catching hundreds of them along with the commercially important fish of the area. The squid have migrated to these northern waters because the seas down south are getting too warm.The second segment is called “The Arrhythmic Ocean” and talks about the upwellings happening along the Oregon coast. As a result of these upwellings, the phytoplankton bloom in tremendous numbers. When these organisms die, they fall to the bottom and are decomposed by ocean bacteria. As a result, all the oxygen is being used up in the water. This causes fish and many other invertebrates to die. Scientists believe global warming is causing the upwellings. Global warming powers the winds, and wind powers the upwellings.As the amount of carbon dioxide has increased in the atmosphere, the ocean has absorbed about 200 million tons of it in the past 200 years. Scientists also predict that the amount in the ocean will increase by about 200% by the end of the century. The third segment of this DVD, “Ocean Acidification,” investigates how this increased carbon dioxide is affecting wildlife. The increased carbon dioxide levels are having the greatest impact on the world’s coral reefs. These animals build their shells out of calcium carbonate in the water. The increased acidification of the ocean keeps them from building large reefs because the carbon dioxide dissolves the calcium. The acidification also dissolves the shells of certain zooplankton and phytoplankton. If these organisms die, the basis of the food chain will be destroyed.The final segment of the video is called “Our Future Ocean.” It takes us to the ocean close to Mount Vesuvius in Italy. The waters in this area are a microcosm of global climate change because the volcano has been acidifying the waters for thousands of years. As a result of the increased acidity, the sea grasses are growing very well, but the numbers of animals in the area have decreased by 30%. Those invertebrates that do live there have thin shells because the acid has dissolved them.The Changing Sea is an excellent program that is suitable for middle and high school students, as well as college-age students and adults. The content would be appropriate for a marine biology or environmental science class. It should be viewed by anyone who has a passion for the sea and wants to protect it.The Changing Sea is an environmental-awareness DVD that shows the viewer the impacts of global warming on the oceans. It says that the decisions made about protecting (or not) the oceans made in the next 20–30 years will have ramifications for generations to come. How will our generation be remembered? Hopefully, as one that has formed a partnership with the oceans and has worked hard to rectify the problems that humans have caused, to protect ocean life for all of our children and grandchildren.