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Oxygen-poor ocean zones are growing
Linked to global warming, these areas of the Pacific and Atlantic cannot sustain most marine life, a new study warns.
Oxygen-starved waters are expanding in the Pacific and Atlantic as ocean temperatures increase with global warming, threatening fisheries and other marine life, a study published today concludes.
Most of these zones remain hundreds of feet below the surface, but they are beginning to spill onto the relatively shallow continental shelf off the coast of California and are nearing the surface off Peru, driving away fish from commercially important fishing grounds, researchers have found.
The low-oxygen, or hypoxic, zones may also be connected to the Pacific coast invasion of the Humboldt, or jumbo, squid. These voracious predators, which can grow 6 feet long, appear to be taking advantage of their tolerance for oxygen-poor waters to escape predators and devour local fish, another team of scientists theorizes.
Researchers believe these phenomena are linked to subsurface layers of hypoxic water in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic oceans that have been thickening over the last 50 years, according to the analysis published today in the journal Science.
The study, led by Lothar Stramma at the University of Kiel in Germany, warns that the spread of hypoxic waters that suffocate marine life is consistent with climate models forecasting what would happen as greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere.
more at the link Linked to global warming, these areas of the Pacific and Atlantic cannot sustain most marine life, a new study warns. ... more -
Arctic Surface "Superwarming" Without It's Insulating Ice Cap
The Arctic covers about 3-4% of the planet, but helps radiate 80% of the sun's rays... that is until now. And that does not bode well for the climate balance of this planet. So when Al Gore and scientists claim that this is a planetary emergency, they aren't saying it just to hear themselves talk. This is real, and it is serious. The Arctic covers about 3-4% of the planet, but helps radiate 80% of the sun's rays... that is until now. And that does not bode ... more
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