Contents, Preface and Explanation

THE Hull Bulletins of Marine Ecology are reports on investigations carried out by the Department of Oceanography in University College Hull. The researches were carried out in close co-operation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Fisheries Division, Scottish Home Department (previously Fishery Board for Scotland). The papers of the present volume are just a beginning, a first attempt at showing how the changing plankton can be studied over wide areas, just as the changing weather conditions can be studied, with the passage of time.

Contrasting futures for ocean and society from different anthropogenic CO2 emissions scenarios

The ocean moderates anthropogenic climate change at the cost of profound alterations of its physics, chemistry, ecology, and services. Here, we evaluate and compare the risks of impacts on marine and coastal ecosystems and the goods and services they provide for growing cumulative carbon emissions under two contrasting emissions scenarios. The current emissions trajectory would rapidly and significantly alter many ecosystems and the associated services on which humans heavily depend. A reduced emissions scenario consistent with the Copenhagen Accord’s goal of a global temperature increase of less than 2°C—is much more favorable to the ocean but still substantially alters important marine ecosystems and associated goods and services. The management options to address ocean impacts narrow as the ocean warms and acidifies. Consequently, any new climate regime that fails to minimize ocean impacts would be incomplete and inadequate.