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A14 SCIENCE
Thursday 18 augusT 2022
Scientists warn of dire effects as Mediterranean heats up

By CIARÁN GILES and ILAN Mediterranean and the
BEN ZION more than 500 million peo-
Associated Press ple who live there if it's not
MADRID (AP) — While va- dealt with soon, scientists
cationers might enjoy the say. Fish stocks will be de-
Mediterranean Sea's sum- pleted and tourism will be
mer warmth, climate scien- adversely affected, as de-
tists are warning of dire con- structive storms could be-
sequences for its marine life come more common on
as it burns up in a series of land.
severe heat waves. Despite representing less
From Barcelona to Tel Aviv, than 1% of the global
scientists say they are wit- ocean surface area, the
nessing exceptional tem- Mediterranean is one of
perature hikes ranging from the main reservoirs of ma-
3 degrees Celsius (5.4 Fahr- rine biodiversity, containing
enheit) to 5 degrees Celsius between 4% and 18% of
(9 Fahrenheit) above the the world's known marine
norm for this time of year. species.
Water temperatures have Some of the most affected
regularly exceeded 30 C species are key to maintain-
(86 F) on some days. ing the functioning and di-
Extreme heat in Europe versity of the sea's habitats.
and other countries around Species like the Posidonia
the Mediterranean has oceanica seagrass mead-
grabbed headlines this ows, which can absorb vast
summer, but the rising sea amounts of carbon dioxide
temperature is largely out and shelters marine life, or
of sight and out of mind. coral reefs, which are also
Marine heat waves are People cool off on Puerto de Sagunto beach, east Spain on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022. home to wildlife, would be
caused by ocean cur- Associated Press at risk.
rents building up areas of Garrabou says the mor-
warm water. Weather sys- weed, were affected along projected to happen fur- for authorities to guaran- tality impacts on species
tems and heat in the at- thousands of kilometers of ther west in the Mediterra- tee that 30% of sea areas were observed between
mosphere can also pile on Mediterranean coasts, ac- nean toward Greece, Italy are protected from human the surface and 45 meters
degrees to the water's tem- cording to the study, which and Spain in the coming activities such as fishing, (around 150 feet) deep,
perature. And just like their was published in the Global years. which would give species where the recorded ma-
on-land counterparts, ma- Change Biology journal. Garrabou points out that a chance to recover and rine heat waves were ex-
rine heat waves are longer, The situation in the eastern seas have been serving thrive. ceptional. Heat waves af-
more frequent and more Mediterranean basin is par- the planet by absorbing About 8% of the Mediterra- fected more than 90% of
intense because of human- ticularly dire. 90% of the earth's excess nean Sea area is currently the Mediterranean Sea's
induced climate change. The waters off Israel, Cyprus, heat and 30% of carbon protected. surface.
The situation is "very wor- Lebanon and Syria are "the dioxide emitted into the at- Garrabou and Rilov said According to the most re-
rying," says Joaquim Gar- hottest hot spot in the Med- mosphere by coal, oil and that policymakers are cent scientific papers, the
rabou, a researcher at the iterranean, for sure," said gas production. This car- largely unaware of the sea surface temperature
Institute of Marine Sciences Gil Rilov, a marine biologist bon-sink effect shields the warming Mediterranean in the Mediterranean has
in Barcelona. "We are push- at Israel's Oceanographic planet from even harsher and its impact. increased by 0.4 C (0.72
ing the system too far. We and Limnological Research climate effects. "It's our job as scientists to F) each decade between
have to take action on the institute, and one of the This was possible because bring this to their attention 1982 and 2018.
climate issues as soon as paper's co-authors. Aver- oceans and seas were in a so they can think about it," On a yearly basis, it has
possible." age sea temperatures in healthy condition, Garra- Rilov said. been rising by some 0.05 C
Garrabou is part of a team the summer are now con- bou said. Heat waves occur when (0.09 F) over the past de-
that recently published the sistently over 31 C (88 F). "But now we have driven especially hot weather cade without any sign of
report on heat waves in These warming seas are the ocean to an unhealthy continues over a set num- letting up.
the Mediterranean Sea be- driving many native spe- and dysfunctional state," ber of days, with no rain Even fractions of degrees
tween 2015 and 2019. The cies to the brink, "because he said. or little wind. Land heat can have disastrous effects
report says these phenom- every summer their opti- While the earth's green- waves help cause marine on ocean health, experts
ena have led to "massive mum temperature is being house gas emissions will heat waves and the two say.
mortality" of marine spe- exceeded," he said. have to be drastically re- tend to feed each other in The affected areas have
cies. What he and his colleagues duced if sea warming is to a vicious, warming circle. also grown since the 1980s
About 50 species, including are witnessing in terms of be curtailed, ocean scien- Land heat waves have be- and now covers most of
corals, sponges and sea- biodiversity loss is what is tists are specifically looking come commonplace in the Mediterranean, the
many countries around the study suggests.
LIKE US ON Mediterranean, with dra- "The question is not about
matic side effects like wild-
the survival of nature, be-
fires, droughts, crop losses cause biodiversity will find
and excruciatingly high way to a survive on the
temperatures. planet," Garrabou said.
But marine heat waves "The question is if we keep
could also have serious going in this direction may-
Facebook.com/arubatoday/ consequences for the be our society, humans, will
countries bordering the not have a place to live."q