The color of the oceans has changed over the past 20 years due to changes in marine ecosystems as a result of global warming. It’s a “terrifying” find a study that studied the waters of our planet using satellite images.
“Modeling shows that these ocean color changes will occur,” Stephanie Dutkiewicz said. She is one of those responsible for research led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in conjunction with the National Oceanographic Center of the United Kingdom. “To see how this actually happens is not surprising, but scary.. This is consistent with anthropogenic changes in our climate,” he added.
For this Aqua satellite, which recently completed 20 years of data collection. This instrument was specifically designed to analyze the color of the oceans; in particular, the light that is reflected in the water. According to the group that analyzed the information, the transformations cannot be explained solely by natural variability.
The color of the oceans, explanation
The study of the tonality of water is not whimsical, as it is a reflection of its ecosystem in the upper layers. The surface, which reaches a depth of about 100 meters, is where the ocean is deal with more directly with the atmosphere. That’s where it absorbs carbon dioxide from the air.
In outline dark blue contains little activity, while green water indicates the presence of life. This color is due to the reproduction of phytoplankton, which contains a greenish pigment and is essential for the nutrition of those who live there, from small fish to large marine mammals.
In addition, phytoplankton produce oxygen through photosynthesis, similar to what plants do on Earth. Bye, studying the color of the water reveals to a large extent how this key component is responding to climate change..
Consequences of human activities on Earth
Research published in the journal Nature analyzed variations in the color of the oceans between 2002 and 2022. As indicated, the experts came to the conclusion that the changes are a consequence of climate change.
“The trends we are seeing are not random changes in the earth system,” explained B. B. Seal, another researcher involved in the study.. “This is consistent with anthropogenic climate change. (…) This provides additional evidence of how human activity significantly affects life on Earth,” he said.
For his part, Dutkiewicz ended with a call for attention. “We hope this will be taken seriously. There will be more than just patterns that predict these changes. Now we see what is really happening and that the ocean is changing.“.
Source: Hiper Textual
