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Plankton, base of ocean food web, in big decline

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer – Wed Jul 28, 1:01 pm ET

WASHINGTON – Despite their tiny size, plant plankton found in the world's oceans are crucial to much of life on Earth. They are the foundation of the bountiful marine food web, produce half the world's oxygen and suck up harmful carbon dioxide.

And they are declining sharply.

Worldwide phytoplankton levels are down 40 percent since the 1950s, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. The likely cause is global warming, which makes it hard for the plant plankton to get vital nutrients, researchers say.

The numbers are both staggering and disturbing, say the Canadian scientists who did the study and a top U.S. government scientist.

"It's concerning because phytoplankton is the basic currency for everything going on in the ocean," said Dalhousie University biology professor Boris Worm, a study co-author. "It's almost like a recession ... that has been going on for decades."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100728/ap_ ... g_plankton

scary news... especially in combination with the news about massive flooding in China, and RECORD heat in Russia:


Floods Trap 30,000 in China's Northeast

Published on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 by Agence France Presse

BEIJING - More than 30,000 people are thought to be trapped by floodwaters in a town in northeast China, state media said Wednesday, as torrential rain that has killed over 300 in two weeks continues.

China is struggling with its worst flooding in a decade that has left 1,405 dead or missing since the beginning of the year and caused at least 26 billion dollars in damage, and authorities have warned of more to come.

In the central city of Wuhan, tens of thousands of people have been evacuated as authorities brace for flood crests from the Yangtze River and one of its tributaries to converge there.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/07/28-3


Drought Adds to Regions Declaring Emergency

19 July 2010 - Combined Reports

Soaring temperatures across large swathes of Russia have destroyed nearly 10 million hectares of crops and prompted a state of emergency in 17 regions, the Agriculture Ministry said Friday.

Also on Friday, the state-run Moscow region weather bureau said it expected the heat wave, which has gripped the country since late June and is estimated to have already cost the agricultural sector about $1 billion, to continue into next week.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/ ... 10588.html

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seems to me... I read an OLD sci-fi novel about the possibility of running out of AIR recently... lemme think...

ah yes, The Last Gasp, by Trevor Hoyle

Have you read Trevor Hoyle’s The Last Gasp - SF novel?

Jul 21, 2010 12:25am by Beth Schmillen

There’s quite a bit of discussion about the environment and will Earth survive what Mankind has done or will the death be to humans? I wanted to bring up the idea in an old SF novel that has to do with Phytoplankton and Oxygen availability in our future. It is a well told story. Interesting read and based on some solid science.

http://bethsventures.amplify.com/2010/0 ... -sf-novel/

that's what happens in The Last Gasp, heat waves, massive flooding, and a severe decline in phytoplankton, culminating in an ecological disaster of epic proportions.