CLIMATE CHANGE: Oceans are changing colour as temperatures rise

CLIMATE change and fluctuations in water temperature are altering the colour of the oceans.

A new study explains that the distribution of Crib-Phytoplanton – or algae – which is not visible to the human eye, affects the colour of the sea.

The team of researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology claim that now, because of climate change, the distribution of these organisms in the water is changing.

The specialists have developed a system that, through images taken by satellites, is able to simulate how the growth, the new distribution and the interaction of the phytoplankton will change as the temperatures of the oceans rise due to climate change.

In the subtropical regions, the oceans will increase their temperatures even more which will cause the population of phytoplankton to descend, so the waters will become bluer.

Those closest to the poles of the planet will look greener because these types of waters cause phytoplankton populations to breed more. When the sun’s rays illuminate these organisms, the light they reflect is green.

According to the MIT researchers’ data, there will be a ‘notable difference’ with respect to the colour of the oceans at the end of the 21st century.