Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystems are under increasing pressure from global climate change and direct human impacts. Decisive, immediate action on climate change mitigation is required at the global scale, as well as effective management at the local scale, to protect these ecosystems and their societal benefits worldwide.
![[Translate to English:] benthos in the western Weddell Sea](/fileadmin/_processed_/6/7/csm_20110311_Benthos_WestWeddellSea_33_TomasLundalv_690a906091.jpg "Benthos in the western Weddell Sea")
![[Translate to English:] Benthos in the western Weddell Sea](/fileadmin/_processed_/2/5/csm_20110401_Benthos_EasternWeddellSea_14_TomasLundalv_54368b515c.jpg "Benthos in the western Weddell Sea")
![[Translate to English:] Weddel seal](/fileadmin/_processed_/e/6/csm_20121221_Weddelseal_AWI_003_47616f3d50.jpg "Weddell Seal")
![[Translate to English:] Polarstern-Winterexperiment](/fileadmin/_processed_/b/4/csm_20130715_AWECS_ANT29_6_551_MarioHoppmann_cc48da86b6.jpg "Emperor penguins")
The first Marine Ecosystem Assessment for the Southern Ocean (MEASO, 2021) has shown significant changes in Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystems, driven by global climate change and direct human impacts. MEASO is an international collaboration of over 200 researchers from 19 countries with the participation of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). These results and their importance will be showcased at the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow.
![[Translate to English:] Weddel seal](/fileadmin/_processed_/e/6/csm_20121221_Weddelseal_AWI_003_7e5793f747.jpg "Weddell Seal")
The Southern Ocean is globally important for regulating climate by taking up atmospheric CO2, connecting the world’s oceans and ocean-climate system, and supporting key species and ecosystem services. Global climate change and ocean acidification are impacting the health and productivity of the Southern Ocean, with knock-on effects on these critical processes as well as regional fisheries (e.g. Antarctic krill) and other ecosystem services.
Global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and climate recovery are required urgently – and must be committed to at the COP26 Conference – to avoid irreversible deterioration of Southern Ocean ecosystems and associated loss of their wide-ranging societal benefits. Only by mitigating global climate change, alongside effective local conservation and management, can we effectively safeguard these vulnerable polar oceans now and into the future.
Dr Andrew Constable, leader of the MEASO Initiative said: “Protecting Southern Ocean ecosystems is a global task. This substantial international research effort has now shown that this region can only be safeguarded by a collective global will to conserve the region. These polar ecosystems are at great risk without keeping global warming below two degrees. Global and local strategies are needed urgently to give Antarctic marine ecosystems the best chance of surviving climate change.”
Prof. Julian Gutt, biologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute and part of the MEASO initiative says: “The unique biodiversity and the global ecosystem services of the Southern Ocean are strong arguments for actively mitigating climate change. In Antarctica, together with other large marine ecosystems, the low level of the use of the biosphere makes adaptation of human activities to climate change -other than through protective measures- hardly an option. Such measures are useful in other regions of the world, but they cannot solve the climate problem globally.”
About the project:
MEASO has undertaken the first assessment of change in habitats, species and food webs to identify how dangerous future climate change will be for Southern Ocean ecosystems and their services. The extent to which climate change mitigation is needed, alongside conservation and management strategies that can take account of the impacts of human induced change, is also assessed. MEASO has harmonised this scientific information on the status and trends in ecosystems to inform policy makers at the local and global scale. MEASO is a core activity of the international and multidisciplinary ICED program (Integrating Climate and Ecosystem Dynamics in the Southern Ocean), and has galvanised a strong collaboration between ICED, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS), which will be developed further within the context of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. It is envisaged that this assessment will be repeated at regular time intervals in order to assess and quantify ongoing changes in the system and underpin effective decision-making around climate change mitigation, conservation and management of environmental change in this climate-sensitive region.
A team of representatives from the MEASO Initiative will deliver a side event at the Cryosphere Pavilion in the UNFCCC Blue Zone of COP26 on Saturday 6th November, 1000h GMT.
The side event will present a focused set of presentations on the key outcomes of MEASO and an interactive panel discussion with audience (in-person and online) participation.
The side event will be live-streamed via the following links and will be cached and available afterwards via the first link:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr_TPYUAyh13kVbQjzVKh0g
https://www.twitch.tv/cop26cryospherepavilion
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXpj1q59mrsT5cOuyagk97Q
The MEASO eBook in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Frontiers in Environmental Science and Frontiers in Marine Science is available here: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/10606/marine-ecosystem-assessment-for-the-southern-ocean-meeting-the-challenge-for-conserving-earth-ecosys
This story was first published by the University of Edinburgh.