Ocean's Color Is Drastically Changing Due to Human-Driven Climate Change

A recent study has found out that climate change contributes to the color of the world's ocean.

According to a report on CNN, the color of the ocean was significantly altered in the past 20 years, most-likely because of the human-caused climate change.

Researchers from the National Oceanography Center in the United Kingdom and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States have found that over 56% of the oceans' color have changed. They said that tropical oceans, which are near to the equator, have become greener in the past two decades.

The color of the ocean is usually derived and determined based on the materials that are found in its upper layers. The change in color has indicated the modifications in the ecosystem.

Change in ecosystems

Senior research scientist Stephanie Dutkiewicz, who is also the co-author of the study, said it is still unclear how the ecosystems are changing, noting that some areas are likely to have less phytoplankton while others have more of it.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration described phytoplankton as the base of several aquatic food webs. The agency said that in a balanced ecosystem, they provide food for a wide range of sea creatures.

Dutkiewicz mentioned that all parts of the ocean would see alterations when it comes to the types of phytoplankton present.

"All changes are causing an imbalance in the natural organization of ecosystems. Such imbalance will only get worse over time if our oceans keep heating," she said in the CNN report.

A CBS News report took note that a water that is mostly green was largely driven by the presence of phytoplankton.

The scientists, who utilized information from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard NASA's Aqua satellite, emphasized that the notable impacts of climate change are already being felt in the surface marine microbial ecosystems.

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People should be serious

Meanwhile, the experts advised the public to take this matter seriously and not just ignore the changes being observed in the ocean system. They said this would also alter how ocean is taking up carbon.

Simulations of how the water will look both with and without the addition of greenhouse gasses were used by the researchers to identify the role climate change played in the alterations of ocean system.

"I've been running simulations that have been telling me for years that these changes in ocean color are going to happen," Dutkiewicz was quoted as saying in a Phys.Org report.

The study further found that the changes that manifested are consistent with human-induced alterations to the global climate. It will then prove that human activities are affecting life on Earth in general over a huge spatial extent.

The trends observed were not just a random variation in the system of the earth; but they are consistent with the anthropogenic climate change, researchers noted.

The CBS News said NASA is set to gather additional data regarding the color of the ocean. The space agency plans to launch the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission next year, which will take global ocean color measurements to help scientists understand how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide.

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