Climate Crisis Special 4-part series Red Earth - Part 2 The Silent Sea September 9, 2021 (Thu) 10 PM KBS 1TV [Documentary Insight] Climate Change Special 4-part series 'Red Earth' ■ Part 1 Endgame 1.5℃ / • [4K] Rising forest fires, an energy bomb created by the Earth KBS Documentary... ■ Part 2 The Silent Sea / • [4K FULL] Jeju's sea is dying due to rising water temperatures Red... ■ Part 3 The warning of the fir trees / • [4K FULL] Mass death of fir trees on Mt. Halla KBS Documentary... ■ Part 4 Climate Revolution / September 23, 2021 (Thu) 10 PM KBS 1TV South Korea is one of the countries with the fastest global warming in the world. Its carbon dioxide emissions are the highest in the world, and the temperature rise over the past 100 years is 1.8℃, which is much higher than the global average temperature rise. Due to climate change, not only land but also sea temperatures are rising significantly. Jeju Island, located on the border of the subtropical and temperate zones, is at the forefront of the climate crisis on the Korean Peninsula. According to research, the water temperature around Jeju has risen by about 2 degrees over the past 36 years. What changes are the seas around Jeju experiencing due to rising water temperatures? Through this, we can gauge the crisis of the entire seas of the Korean Peninsula. ■ Extinction of seaweeds in the Jeju sea “The seas of Marado are a mess right now. The sea has been dying for the past five years. There is no seaweed, no sea tangle... (omitted) It is truly devastated beyond words.” Kim Chun-geum / President of Marado Haenyeo The seas of Jeju are changing. Haenyeo complain that the sea is no longer a field. Marado, the southernmost island of Korea, was considered a “golden field” for haenyeo. Not only the seaweed that should have formed a forest by now, but also the number of sea urchins, a specialty of Marado, has noticeably decreased. The seaweeds that used to cover the rocks without fail have also disappeared as if it were a lie. This happened in just 3-4 years. On the other hand, the winter water temperature in the sea south of Jeju has risen by 3.6℃ over the past 36 years. What kind of correlation is there between the rise in sea temperature and the decrease in seaweed? ■ Jeju Island waters are covered with subtropical species You can definitely feel that the number of fish species that can be found in Southeast Asia has increased compared to before. Son Mi-sook / Diver Seaweed is gradually disappearing, and those areas are being covered with bubble coral. However, this phenomenon is not happening in just one area of ​​Jeju, but in all seas. Professor Park Sang-ryul / Department of Marine Life Sciences, Jeju National University Subtropical species such as bubble coral and large shad are taking the place of the disappearing seaweed. They have recently been spreading explosively throughout the Seogwipo sea. As a result, the harvest of conches and sea urchins that feed on seaweed, as well as Jeju’s representative fish, damselfish, is rapidly decreasing. Experts diagnose that if the climate crisis accelerates, all marine ecosystems and fishing ecosystems could change. A more serious problem is that if the sea forests and algae that absorb carbon dioxide disappear, carbon dioxide cannot be purified. The crisis of the heated ocean will eventually come back to humans like a boomerang. What crisis will the change in the ocean bring to humans? The production team of 'The Silent Sea' tracked the changes in Jeju's sea amid the climate crisis for the past year. #climate crisis #climate change #water temperature rise #jeju island #marado