Video: Map reveals extent of human damage to oceans
Human activities have strongly impacted 41% of the world鈥檚 oceans and have left only about 4% of their surface area relatively pristine, according to the first-ever global map of human impact upon the oceans.
The new atlas highlights the significant effects humans have had on even the most remote seas and could help guide future conservation efforts, but the findings have also drawn criticism from at least one marine biologist who questions the subjective nature of the ambitious study.
The atlas reflects the cumulative effects of 17 different types of human impact 鈥� including pollution, fishing, and climate change 鈥� on 20 different types of marine ecosystems.
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鈥淣o single spot on this planet is being untouched by human activities,鈥� says lead author Benjamin Halpern, of the in Santa Barbara, California.
鈥業mmediate action鈥�
Halpern and colleagues compiled expert opinions on the effects of specific human activities on different ecosystems and fed the data into a model that assigned each square kilometre of the ocean a single 鈥渋mpact weight鈥�.
The values, ranging from 0.01 to 90.1, reflect the overall effect of all human-induced changes in that particular location. Polar regions came out least affected, while the east Caribbean, the East and South China Seas, and the North Sea were among areas most heavily impacted.
鈥淭his highlights the need for immediate action that should be taken across different agencies, organisations, and nations,鈥� says study co-author of Stanford University鈥檚 Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove, California.
鈥淏ecause of the extent of these combined threats, these effects can only be addressed through global cooperation,鈥� she says.
鈥楴ot science鈥�
, director of the Marine Policy Center at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts applauds the effort, but questions data based on the opinions of individuals.
鈥淚 think a good thing it does is draw attention to the scale of human activity in the ocean in general, but it really isn鈥檛 science in the sense that I as a scientist view science,鈥� says Solow.
鈥淭hey multiply together numbers that are people鈥檚 opinions on the impact of a particular human activity on a particular ecosystem鈥�, he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a pseudo quantification.鈥�
Solow fears the study could do more harm than good. 鈥淭he danger is people see quantification and think it must come with some precision and scientific basis and when they find out that is not the case, that can undermine any good that it might otherwise do,鈥� he says.
鈥楥omprehensive data鈥�
The study authors maintain they grounded the numbers with empirical evidence whenever possible and spoke with marine biologists the world over to get the best possible figures.
鈥淭his represents the most current and comprehensive data we have on human impact on the oceans,鈥� says Micheli.
The atlas was unveiled on Thursday at the in Boston, US.
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