The Oceans are not blue anymore……this is scary !!!!
The world’s oceans are changing colour from blue to green. It is reported that this is due to climate change, but the green chlorophyll phytoplankton are not tracking the warmer water. It is suggested that it may be due to nutrients and stratification in a recent report by Nature.
https://lnkd.in/eGxzHe5C
Very little information is given in the Nature report. At Goes, we think the change in colour is due to a regime shift of phytoplankton from Coccolithophore species to cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates. This is well documented in other reports.
Coccolithophores are composed of calcium, and they help to make the water appear blue. The change has affected 56% of the world’s Oceans. A number of years ago, we predicted this would happen; see the graph below. The issue now is that it is occurring many years earlier than predicted.
Dinoflagellates will produce harmful algal blooms, which can impact human health and the marine food web. The algae produce toxic chemicals such as domoic acid, which causes brain damage in marine mammals. Orca have now been attacking boats in Portugal and Spain https://lnkd.in/ey5tgN_D
and seals are now attacking people in South Africa. This is not normal behaviour !!!!
Additionally, the shift in phytoplankton composition will affect the carbon cycle, as dinoflagellates do not calcify like coccolithophores, and oceanic pH (acidity) is going to crash at a faster rate.
What are the scientists doing about this…..We need to collect more data
A major regime shift in the world’s Oceans from Coccolithophores to cellulose dinoflagellates is catastrophically bad and will impact everyone.
