16 週 (5-5)

Question:

What are the major ocean zones and how have we affected them ?

什麼是主要海洋區域，以及我們如何影響它?

Answer:

This comprehesive map is shows the tremendous impact man had on the marine environment , affecting 41% of the world’s ocean , no area remaining completely untouched. Presented Thursday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science , the map takes into account the impact 17 different activities have on the marine life , ranging from fishing and commercial shipping to pollution and climate change.

Photo credit : Ben Halpern / NCEAS
This global map shows cumulative human impact across 20 ocean ecosystem types. The map is color-coded to show very high impact (red) , high impact (dark orange) , medium high impact (light orange) , medium impact (yellow) , low impact (green) and very low impact (blue). 41% of the area has experienced medium high to very high impact , scientists say.

Among the highly impacted pieces of that delicate ecosystem are the coral reefs , continental shelves and the deep ocean. The biggest human impact was seen in the North Sea , the South and East China Seas , the Caribbean and North America’s East Coast. The areas that suffer the least , according to the map were largely near the poles.
" For the first time , we have produced a global map of all of these different activities , laid on top of each other , so that we can get the big picture of all the impacts humans are having , " Ben Halpern , the study’s lead author , told journalists Thursday. According to the team , oxygen levels had fallen to virtually nil , and they reported the " complete absence " of fish from rocky reefs. They said the zone’s degradation seemed to be accelerating.

Here is a more detailed look at four areas on the global map. They show , from left , the Eastern Caribbean ; the North Sea ; the waters around Japan ; and one of the world’s least-affected ocean regions , around northern Australia and the Torres Strait.

The group of scientists mentioned their assessment depended on " expert judgment , " and that the method resulted in " a different picture of ocean condition compared with simply mapping the footprints of human activities or drivers."

" Unfortunately , as polar ice sheets disappear with warming global climate and human activities spread into these areas , there is a great risk of rapid degradation of these relatively pristine ecosystems , " Carrie Kappel , a scientist at NCEAS , said in a news release.
NCEAS’ Halpern said the news wasn’t all bad.
" Small patches of these low-impact areas exist around the planet ," he said. " Almost every country has some of these in their backyard, providing real opportunities for effective management and conservation in these areas. "

Differences in average annual precipitation and temperature lead to the formation of tropical , temperate , and cold deserts , grasslands , forests , and largely determine their locations.

以下這些在說明...圖片為近日在American Association for the Advancement of Science會議上被提出它清楚地描繪出全世界海洋被人為影響的區域，約有41%的區域受到影響，也沒有一片區域是尚未被人們碰觸過的處女地，這張圖將17種人為活動納入統計，像是捕魚活動及污染等等．．．，而資料也顯示出人類也衝擊到20種生態系統。

每種顏色代表著各種不同程度的衝擊，顏色越紅當然則越嚴重。紅>深橘>橘>黃>綠>藍，超越中高程度的區域到達四成。許多生態區域像是珊瑚群大陸棚與深海都受到衝擊，最嚴重的區域分布在北海(大西洋北部) 、東南中國海、加勒比海與美國東部海岸、人類文明越是興盛處。

似乎顏色都比較深，這張圖告訴我們除了我們腳上踏上的土地需要好好愛護外，海洋的生態問題也必須付出同等的關懷。

參考資料 :

http://www.wretch.cc/blog/Linpy/21036693