“It’s our job as scientists to bring this to their attention so they can think about it,” Rilov said. Garrabou and Rilov said that policymakers are largely unaware of the warming Mediterranean and its impact. While the earth's greenhouse gas emissions will have to be drastically reduced if sea warming is to be curtailed, ocean scientists are specifically looking for authorities to guarantee that 30% of sea areas are protected from human activities such as fishing, which would give species a chance to recover and thrive.Ībout 8% of the Mediterranean Sea area is currently protected. “But now we have driven the ocean to an unhealthy and dysfunctional state," he said. This was possible because oceans and seas were in a healthy condition, Garrabou said. This carbon-sink effect shields the planet from even harsher climate effects. Garrabou points out that seas have been serving the planet by absorbing 90% of the earth’s excess heat and 30% of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by coal, oil and gas production. What he and his colleagues are witnessing in terms of biodiversity loss is what is projected to happen further west in the Mediterranean toward Greece, Italy and Spain in the coming years. These warming seas are driving many native species to the brink, “because every summer their optimum temperature is being exceeded,” he said. Average sea temperatures in the summer are now consistently over 31 C (88 F). The waters off Israel, Cyprus, Lebanon and Syria are “the hottest hot spot in the Mediterranean, for sure,” said Gil Rilov, a marine biologist at Israel’s Oceanographic and Limnological Research institute, and one of the paper’s co-authors. The situation in the eastern Mediterranean basin is particularly dire. The report says these phenomena have led to “massive mortality” of marine species.Ībout 50 species, including corals, sponges and seaweed, were affected along thousands of kilometers of Mediterranean coasts, according to the study, which was published in the Global Change Biology journal. Garrabou is part of a team that recently published the report on heat waves in the Mediterranean Sea between 20. We have to take action on the climate issues as soon as possible.” The situation is “very worrying,” says Joaquim Garrabou, a researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences in Barcelona. And just like their on-land counterparts, marine heat waves are longer, more frequent and more intense because of human-induced climate change. Weather systems and heat in the atmosphere can also pile on degrees to the water's temperature. Marine heat waves are caused by ocean currents building up areas of warm water. Water temperatures have regularly exceeded 30 C (86 F) on some days.Įxtreme heat in Europe and other countries around the Mediterranean has grabbed headlines this summer, but the rising sea temperature is largely out of sight and out of mind.
Ocean waves by joe baker series#
MADRID - While vacationers might enjoy the Mediterranean Sea's summer warmth, climate scientists are warning of dire consequences for its marine life as it burns up in a series of severe heat waves.įrom Barcelona to Tel Aviv, scientists say they are witnessing exceptional temperature hikes ranging from 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 Fahrenheit) to 5 degrees Celsius (9 Fahrenheit) above the norm for this time of year. By CIARÁN GILES and ILAN BEN ZION, Associated Press
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