Oceans have been witnessing changes in their color which has picked the curiosity of scientists who have started investigations into the matter.
According to the data from satellites, over the past 20 years around 56% of the oceans have been changing color from blue to green. Researchers observe that this mild change in color of the oceans signals the impact of climate change on in the aquatic life.
Why is this sudden phenomenon?
Nasa’s Modis-Aqua satellite detected a slow transformation of blue to green color in more than half of the world’s oceans. The total area that has been transformed into green has a greater area than the total Earth’s landmass.
BB Cael at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, UK, and his colleagues collected the data from NASA and after studying it is assured that the green shade is a representation of ecosystems altering because of climate change.
The data said, “The effects of climate change are already being felt in the surface marine microbial ecosystem.”
The nature and cause of these changes though are unexplained, however, BB Cael says that its possibly associated with the living organisms at the lowest level of most food chains – phytoplankton. These living beings have a crucial role of producing majority of the oxygen for other living beings and stabilizing our atmosphere.
What does the color green indicates?
According to the study’s authors, a shift in the ocean’s color may indicate a change in the condition of its ecosystems. Greener tones imply higher phytoplankton activity whereas deeper blues suggest less life.
It provides a picture of what is occurring in the water’s topmost layers.
However, due to the drastically different chlorophyll levels at the surface, the hue of the ocean can fluctuate from year to year. It is challenging to determine whether the change from blue to green is a result of climate change.
Before noticing any patterns, scientists predicted that it might take up to 40 years to track the ocean’s hue. Additionally, different satellites measure color variations in various ways. It means that it is frequently impossible to merge the data from each one.
In January 2024, NASA will launch the Pace mission to learn more about how the ocean’s colors change. Plankton, aerosol, clouds, and the ocean ecology will all be observed.
