Temperatures around the world continue to rise – and the North Sea is no exception.
Temperatures around the world continue to rise – and the North Sea is no exception. Yet, in addition to this gradual warming, increasingly frequent and intense heat events also have consequences for marine organisms. Researchers at the Marine Station Helgoland, a research facility of the Alfred Wegener Institute, have quantified the frequency and intensity of these heatwaves along with their repercussions for plankton. They have also conducted an experiment that exposed the North Sea plankton community to different future warmer scenarios, both with and without heatwaves. The researchers found that gradual warming causes significant shifts in the species spectrum. When heatwaves are added, however, these alterations are amplified. The results have been published in three publications, most recently in Limnology and Oceanography.
From rising sea levels and new introductions of species to a temperature increase of 1.9°C since 1962, there is clear evidence that the North Sea is changing more rapidly at present than it has for millennia. Yet, given that climate change takes place over long timescales – from a human perspective, at least – these changes can seem slow and gradual, perhaps not so serious, because many organisms might adapt gradually. “This puzzle, however, misses a key piece”, says Dr Cédric Meunier. “And that’s marine heatwaves.”
Read More at: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Gradual warming causes significant shifts in the species spectrum of North Sea Plankton. When heatwaves are added, however, these alterations are amplified (Photo Credit: Bank Beszteri)
