Rising Temperature and Acidity Threaten Mediterranean
The temperature and acidity in the Mediterranean Sea are rising, and researchers are worried it will lead to extinction of native species.
Villefranche-sur-Mer oceanographic laboratory in the south of France released a study that said the ocean’s acidity has been rising on average of 7 percent a year between 2007 and 2015 and the water temperature rose 0.7 percent over the same period.
These rates are higher than any ocean in the world, researchers said.
National Scientific Research Centre (CNRS) director of research, Jean-Pierre Gattuso said the change in temperatures and acidity has already changed the ecology of the ocean.
“There are species that come from the southern coasts of the Mediterranean, so we end up seeing a Mediterranean that is becoming almost subtropical,” he said.
And he’s worried that native species are going to die out, like the posidonia, a seagrass native to the Mediterranean that provides oxygen to fish.
Other species that could face extinction in the ocean are oysters, small molluscs, coral, and mussels.
No comments:
Post a Comment