Even the color of the seas is changing due to global warming, and this is nothing but a result of deeper ecological transformations. Although our eyes do not perceive at first glance, color in the last twenty years ocean has changed significantly And according to a study published NatureThis change is a result of human-induced climate change.
Research led by scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the UK’s National Oceanographic Center points out that: this change was detected in 56% of the world’s oceansan extension larger than the total terrestrial surface of the planet.
The article explains that regions of tropical oceans near the equator are becoming greener. indicates that surface ecosystems are also changingbecause the color of the ocean is a “true” reflection of the state of organisms and materials in its waters.
Researchers still can’t say exactly how marine ecosystems are changing, but they’re sure it’s due to climate change.
“For years I’ve been doing simulations that show these changes in the color of the ocean will happen. It’s no longer surprising to see what’s going on, it’s frightening.“” said Stephanie Dutkiewicz, a co-author of the study and a scientific researcher at MIT, in statements compiled by Efe.
changes in plankton
The color of the ocean reflects what is in the upper layers: azure waters reflect little lifeand greener waters indicate the presence of ecosystems, particularly phytoplankton – plant-like microbes that abound in the upper layers of the ocean.
Phytoplankton is the foundation of the marine food web that supports increasingly complex organisms including krill, fish and seabirds and mammals, and is also a powerful muscle in the ocean’s ability to capture and store carbon dioxide.
That’s why scientists have spent decades observing phytoplankton on the ocean surface and studying how these essential communities respond to climate change by monitoring them from space.
“The color of the oceans has changed because it reflects changes in plankton communities, this will affect anything that feeds on plankton”.
“These changes will also change how much carbon the ocean absorbs, because Different plankton species have different abilities to do this.. So we hope people take this seriously. Models alone do not predict these changes. Now we can see and the ocean is changing,” said Dutkiewicz.
The prediction came true
Cael and his team analyzed ocean color measurements made by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite. Watching the color of the ocean for 21 years and makes measurements at seven visible wavelengths.
And this, Although most of the ocean appears blue to our eyes, true color may contain a mixture of finer wavelengths.from blue to green and even red.
Cael did a statistical analysis using a combination of seven ocean colors measured by satellite between 2002 and 2022. He first looked at how much the seven colors changed from one region to another in one year, and then extended the analysis to twenty years.
The analysis revealed a clear trend, above the normal annual variability.
To see if it’s trending on climate changeHe returned to Dutkiewicz’s 2019 model, which simulates the Earth’s oceans in two scenarios: one with added greenhouse gases and the other without.
The greenhouse gas model predicted that within 20 years, a significant trend should emerge, causing changes in the color of the oceans in about 50 percent of the world’s surface oceans (exactly what Cael found in his analysis of real-world satellite data). .
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