The Beacon
Hot Topics: Saltier Seas
Using climate models, researchers from UK Met Office, the environmental and weather service for the UK, and Reading University have found that ocean salinity is increasing in waters of the mid-Atlantic, caused by a reduction in rainfall coupled with increased evaporation, both consequences of global warming.
The escalating salinity of the mid-Atlantic can only be explained by human-caused global climate change, the researchers concluded. What this means exactly for marine life and ecosystems appears uncertain, but such simulated climate models are helping scientists understand and project future oceanic reactions to global warming, such as the anticipation of a drier climate for southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
