World’s oceans at a tipping point, indicates UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report

Australia's affinity for the ocean is renowned, but it is likely to be dramatically disrupted, according to the latest report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Most Australians live within 50 kilometres of the coast.

Eighty-five per cent of the population lives within 50 kilometres of the ocean — we fish, surf, swim and bask in coastal life, but beneath the sea's surface, the story is far from idyllic. 

Oceans cover more than 70 per cent of Earth's surface and are made up of a mixture of water, salt, organic materials, particulates and atmospheric gasses. 

They help to produce half of the planet's oxygen and contain important food sources. 

So, what happens in the oceans has ramifications for life on Earth — specifically what we breathe and what we eat. 

Read the ABC News story by Penny Timms - “World’s oceans at a tipping point, indicates UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.”