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Interesting news — Science XXI
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In the southern part of the Indian Ocean off the western coast of Australia, there has been a sharp decrease in salinity, which is related to climate changes. A recent study conducted by specialists from the University of Colorado Boulder found that this process has significantly accelerated over the past six decades. The increase in global temperature has transformed wind and ocean currents, leading to the influx of large volumes of fresh water into this region.
According to a publication on Phys.org, such significant changes could disrupt the interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere and affect global water circulation, which regulates the climate on our planet. Professor Weiqing Han emphasized: "We are observing a serious shift in the movement of fresh water across the ocean." Typically, the salinity of seawater is about 3.5%, but in the tropical latitudes of the Indo-Pacific region, it is naturally lower due to frequent precipitation. This area is connected to a vast conveyor of ocean currents that redistributes heat and salt around the world, including the Atlantic.
However, over the past 60 years, the situation off the Australian coast has changed dramatically. This region, which was previously known for high evaporation rates and salinity, now shows a 30% reduction in the area of salty water. This is the fastest desalination process ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere. Researcher Genshin Chen reported that the amount of incoming fresh water is comparable to 60% of the volume of Lake Tahoe, which would be enough to provide drinking water for the entire population of the United States for over 380 years.
The main cause of these changes is global warming, which affects surface winds over the Indian and tropical Pacific Oceans. These changes cause ocean currents to direct more fresh water from the Indo-Pacific basin southward. As a result, less salty and less dense water accumulates at the surface, hindering the mixing of water layers. This makes it difficult for surface waters to sink and for deep waters to rise, thus disrupting the distribution of nutrients and heat.
These changes pose serious threats to marine ecosystems and climate. Previous studies have already indicated that the influx of fresh water could slow down thermohaline circulation in the Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, insufficient mixing deprives plankton and seagrasses of essential nutrients from the depths and retains excess heat at the surface, creating stress for aquatic organisms. Chen added that changes in the food chain could have far-reaching consequences for the entire ocean biodiversity.
