· 2 min read
illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece here in The Guardian or enjoy below
🗞️ Driving the news: New research indicates that the Earth’s oceans are undergoing a color change, probably due to climate breakdown, with an observable shift from deep blue to green, particularly in low latitude areas near the equator
• The researchers correlated these changes to plankton populations worldwide
🔭 The context: The study, led by scientist BB Cael at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, used two decades of observations by Nasa’s Modis-Aqua satellite to examine changes in ocean hues across a fuller color spectrum, not just the greenness
• The team correlated these changes to plankton populations worldwide
🌎 Why does it matter for the planet: As these color changes are evident in half of the world’s oceans –a larger area than all of the land on Earth – it is clear evidence of human-induced climate impacts on the global biosphere
⏭️ What's next: Nasa plans to launch an advanced satellite mission in January 2024 called Pace (plankton, aerosol, cloud, ocean ecosystem), which will measure hundreds of ocean colors, further enhancing studies like this one
💬 One quote: “But this gives us an additional piece of evidence that human activity is likely affecting large parts of the global biosphere in a way that we haven’t been able to understand,” (BB Cael, scientist at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton)
📈 One stat: The research findings demonstrate that significant color changes, mostly a "greening effect", have been detected over 56% of the world’s oceans
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