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The human-induced destruction of the oceans is causing havoc on the planet’s oceans. Climate change. Glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising and reefs are dying – and now, according to a new studyScience Advances published an article stating that the sea is losing its memories.
The oceans are not subject to extreme weather changes, which can be very unpredictable and rapid. They usually experience only minor changes over the course of a week, unlike weather. This is known as “memory” because it is dependent on the thickness of the ocean’s top mixed layer. A thicker sea surface layer provides greater cushioning and a stronger memory due to the thermal inertia.
However, as global warming increases and ocean temperatures rises, this top layer begins to thin. As a thin mattress, the support or in this instance the year-to-year memory, weakens.
Hui Shi, the study’s lead author, said that it was almost as if “the ocean is developing amnesia”.
This memory is what scientists use to predict ocean conditions. As it declines, it will be harder to keep pace with them.
Study co-author Fei-Fei Jin, a professor at the University of Hawai’i Mānoa, said that this, along with random fluctuations that have been found in sea surface temperature, “suggest Intrinsic changes in the system“New challenges in prediction under climate warming”
These changes will have a profound impact on our lives.
Using a comprehensive array of Earth system models, researchers project that the ocean’s memory will decrease throughout most of the world by the end of the 21st century – just 79 years from now. Models suggest that ocean memory will decrease by up to 100 percent in some regions.
Research has shown that climate change-induced shoaling is the main cause of the decline.
A declining ocean memory can make it harder to predict changes at sea surface and could have a negative impact on how we manage sensitive ecosystems.
For example, the stability of the marine environment is crucial for fisheries. However, if the ocean’s memories decline, then condition estimates may become less reliable. Researchers also believe it could have an impact on marine life populations that are more accustomed to constant environmental conditions.
Unstable ocean conditions can also affect temperature, precipitation, and extreme weather events all over the globe.
This was even seen in 2019, during the Northwest Pacific marine heatwaveThe record-breaking mixed layer depth was reached in December due to stronger surface heating and higher winds. According to the U.S. Climate Variability and Predictability Program from last year. climate model projectionsThis is because global warming will continue to drive these conditions.
