The ocean is losing its breath

Decreased oxygen concentrations in the ocean, as a result of climate change and other anthropogenic stressors, e.g. nutrient input due to inefficient fertilizer use, was discussed in the latest IPCC report (2014). However, so far this emerging threat for the ocean is not fully acknowledged by policymakers and stakeholders at the global level. Systematic deoxygenation of the ocean will have widespread consequences. O2 plays a direct role in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and many other biogeochemically important elements (P, Fe, Mn, etc.). O2 is also fundamental for all aerobic life, including organisms living in the dark ocean interior. Deoxygenation (reduced oxygen concentration) mostly affects the marine environment at the local level, nevertheless economic and socio-economic impacts will impair the human society at the regional and global level….

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