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NASA hasreleased a new videothat shows what the planet's surface would look like without water.
The animation, which is an updated versionof a 2008 video, slowly drains the oceans, showing what the terrain looks like underneath.
The video gives a sense of just how complex the landscape underneath the ocean really is. The continental shelf drops become visible in the first few seconds, followed shortly after by the midocean ridges — massive undersea mountain ranges formed where tectonic plates run together. The video also shows just how deep the oceans go, with the barely visible depths of the Mariana trench draining long after the rest of the water has gone.
While the oceans aren't in danger of drying out in the near future, the animation is reminiscent of what the Earth may eventually look like, if CO2levels continue to rise. High atmospheric CO2in the range of 4,500 to 6,000 parts per millioncould lead to the evaporationof the Earth's ocean over time. In addition, it highlights more immediate threats, like the real-life water crises that are happening right now.
Water depletion around the globe
While sea levels are expected to rise as climate change melts ice and permafrost, inland bodies of water may not be so lucky.
Scientists recentlydetermined that increased temperatures,caused by climate change, are behind the current sea-level drop in the Caspian Sea, the world's largest inland body of water. They believe the higher temperatures are causing elevated evaporation of surface water, leading to the sea's shrinkage. The water loss is likely to continue as long as temperatures rise, and could soon pose a serious threatto the highly biodiverseCaspian Sea ecosystem.
If left unchecked, the evaporation may eventually lead the Caspian to face a fate similar to that of the Aral Sea, another massive body of water — an inland lake, despite its name — in the same region. In the past few decades, the Aral has gone from being the fourth-largest lake in the world to a fraction of its size. This was due to water mismanagement in the Soviet Union. Bad water policy and increased evaporation as the result of climate changecontinue to shrink the laketoday.
Climate change-related water loss is likely to impact most sources of water around the globe as well, though the changes may not be as pronounced as those seen in large bodies of water like the Caspian and Aral. According to the World Resources Institute, 17 countries, which together contain more than a quarter of the world's population, are expected toface extremely high water stresswithin the next 20 years.
Major water crises may come even sooner, as well. In 2018, Cape Town, South Africa,nearly faced its "day zero"— the day when the city's water supplies were set to run totally dry. The crisis was averted, but only temporarily. The risk of water scarcity remains high both in the city and the rest of the country.
Other major cities — including Tokyo, Mexico City, London and Los Angeles — may soon face similar crises. Temperatures are rising and demand for water continues to increase. At the same time, water scarcity in major cities may be made even worse by pollution, whichcontaminates our oceansand sources of drinkable water with pollutants like plastics.
The growing scarcity of water will likely be the worst in areas that are already struggling with water supplies, as well as rural or undeveloped areas where infrastructure is limited. However, even developed regions won't necessarily be immune to growing worldwide water scarcity. By 2040, it is predicted that nearly a quarter of the U.S. will experience"extremely high" water stress.
This scarcity isn't guaranteed, of course. Better water management and action against climate change could turn those trends around, and significantly reduce the risk of high water stress over the next few decades.
The future of our planet's water
While the oceans aren't expected to dry out any time soon, water scarcity will likely become one of the most pressing issues over the next few decades.
Water loss is already reshaping the face of our planet — shrinking the boundaries of major bodies of water like the Caspian Sea — and will likely have significant impacts just about everywhere.
FAQs
Sea Level Likely to Rise 1 to 6.6 Feet by 2100. Global sea level has risen about 8 inches (0.2 meters) since reliable record-keeping began in 1880. By 2100, scientists project that it will rise at least another foot (0.3 meters), but possibly as high as 6.6 feet (2 meters) in a high-emissions scenario.
How will climate change affect the ocean? ›
Climate change warms the ocean, causing knock-on effects such as thermal expansion - which leads to a rise in sea level - and changes in ocean currents. The melting of ice both on land and in the sea also affects the ocean, causing more sea-level rise and reducing the salinity of the ocean, respectively.
What has NASA said about climate change? ›
We already see effects scientists predicted, such as the loss of sea ice, melting glaciers and ice sheets, sea level rise, and more intense heat waves. Scientists predict global temperature increases from human-made greenhouse gases will continue. Severe weather damage will also increase and intensify.
Will ocean currents change with climate change? ›
As Earth's climate warms, the water also warms melting sea ice. This warming could make the water less cold and less likely to sink. Without sinking cold water, the ocean currents could slow down or stop in some places.
Will the ocean eventually evaporate? ›
The natural increase in solar luminosity -- a very slow process unrelated to current climate warming -- will cause the Earth's temperatures to rise over the next few hundred million years. This will result in the complete evaporation of the oceans.
What will happen to the ocean in the future? ›
There are increasing high levels of man-made pollution in many of the world's seas and little actually disappears. By 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the world's oceans. We live on a blue planet; the world's oceans cover three quarters of the Earth.
What would happen to a human at the bottom of the ocean? ›
The pressure from the water would push in on the person's body, causing any space that's filled with air to collapse. (The air would be compressed.) So, the lungs would collapse. At the same time, the pressure from the water would push water into the mouth, filling the lungs back up again with water instead of air.
Has the Earth been hotter than it is now? ›
Even after those first scorching millennia, however, the planet has often been much warmer than it is now. One of the warmest times was during the geologic period known as the Neoproterozoic, between 600 and 800 million years ago. Conditions were also frequently sweltering between 500 million and 250 million years ago.
What is the hottest year on Earth? ›
Details. The year 2023 was the warmest year since global records began in 1850 at 1.18°C (2.12°F) above the 20th-century average of 13.9°C (57.0°F). This value is 0.15°C (0.27°F) more than the previous record set in 2016. The 10 warmest years in the 174-year record have all occurred during the last decade (2014–2023).
Is it too late to prevent global warming? ›
While the effects of human activities on Earth's climate to date are irreversible on the timescale of humans alive today, every little bit of avoided future temperature increases results in less warming that would otherwise persist for essentially forever.
The Gulf Stream system of warm ocean currents could collapse as early as 2025, a scientific study has warned. The end of the system, which drives the Atlantic's currents and determines western Europe's weather, would likely lead to lower temperatures and catastrophic climate impacts.
Could the Atlantic Ocean current collapse as soon as 2025? ›
A 2021 study found that the AMOC was weaker than any other time in the past 1,000 years. And a particularly alarming — and somewhat controversial — report published in July last year, concluded that the AMOC could be on course to collapse potentially as early as 2025.
Is the Earth at risk of catastrophic collapse? ›
One 2022 Science study into the risk of failure of nine key Earth systems — which include the thawing of methane-dense permafrost and coral reef die-off — found that collapse was possible even even at 1 degree Celsius of warming.
Will the Earth eventually be covered in water? ›
The simple answer is no. The whole world will never be underwater. But our coastlines would be very different.
Will Earth's water dry up? ›
While our planet as a whole may never run out of water, it's important to remember that clean freshwater is not always available where and when humans need it. In fact, half of the world's freshwater can be found in only six countries. More than a billion people live without enough safe, clean water.
How long until the oceans are empty? ›
If overfishing does not stop and we fail to implement sustainable fishing practices, the world could run out of seafood as we know it by 2048, leading to severe ecological imbalances, a collapse of global fish stocks, and profound socioeconomic impacts on coastal communities and industries that depend on a healthy ...
What happens if the ocean gets too warm? ›
Increasing ocean heat content is contributing to sea level rise, ocean heat waves and coral bleaching, and melting of ocean-terminating glaciers and ice sheets around Greenland and Antarctica.
How does climate change affect the coastal ecosystem? ›
Effects include sea level rise, warming ocean temperatures, ocean acidification, changes to rainfall and runoff, and more extreme weather events such as severe east coast lows. These changes will affect coastal landforms and ecosystems including oceans, beaches, estuaries, lagoons and rivers.
How do scientists expect climate change to affect the ocean's productivity? ›
Rising ocean temperatures contribute to oxygen-depleted ocean dead zones in large coastal and open ocean areas, rendering them largely uninhabitable by marine life. Hotter oceans can hold more carbon dioxide, which causes seawater to become more acidic.
Are ocean temps rising? ›
Sea surface temperature increased during the 20th century and continues to rise.
