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Havana, February 11 (RHC) More than half of the oceans will have changed color at the end of the century due to climate change and the intensification of blue and green regions, according to a study published Monday by the scientific journal Nature. Communication
According to research conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, USA), the color of the oceans will be affected by the substantial changes caused by global warming of aquatic phytoplankton populations.
The survey predicts that lowering levels of phytoplankton (and life in general) will impregnate blue areas, such as subtropical areas, with stronger blue; at the same time that the proliferation of phytoplankton species will transform the areas of this color, like the poles, into a more intense green.
According to the press, alluding to the information regarding the study, it is necessary to start from the fact that the coloring of the ocean depends on how the sun's rays interact with the components of the water .
In this way, the areas of the ocean where life is less lively are perceived as an intense blue because the water molecules absorb almost all the sunlight, with the exception of the blue part of the spectrum; while the areas rich in algae are greenish because phytoplankton contain chlorophyll, which absorbs the blue spectrum and the least green.
For their work, the researchers developed a global model simulating the growth and interaction of different phytoplankton or algae species, and showing how species mixing at multiple locations will change as temperatures rise. They also simulated how phytoplankton absorb and reflect light and how the color of the ocean changes as global warming affects the composition of phytoplankton communities.
According to research, climate change is already changing the composition of phytoplankton and, by extension, the color of the oceans; its authors also point out that satellites need to detect these variations in ocean color so they can quickly detect large-scale changes in marine ecosystems.
The problem is that phytoplankton play a major role in the oceans because, in addition to converting sunlight into chemical energy and consuming carbon dioxide, it is also the first link in the marine food chain.
"The change is not good because it will definitely affect the rest of the food chain," said Stephanie Dutkiewicz, senior research author, scientist at the Department of Earth Sciences, Atmosphere and Environment. planets from MIT.
"The phytoplankton is in the base (food), and if the base changes, it puts everything else in danger in the food chain, reaching the polar bears or tuna or almost everything you want to eat …", means Dutkiewicz.
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