TEMPERATURE IS RISING 

  We have experienced record breaking temperatures for the world's oceans in 2023 and 2024, demonstrating a rapid acceleration of climate change. The seas are changing greatly with global warming, as the lives of many fish and mammals have become disrupted from the sharp increases of temperature in their respective regions. A study conducted in May of 2024 by Global Change Biology analyzed the behavior of 115 species of marine fish as the temperatures they lived in rose to higher numbers. The results of the study were the majority of the populations moving towards cooler waters. As we experience higher levels of global warming, the marine life that we share this planet with must adjust and adapt as necessary to survive. 

     Chris Merchant, a researcher at the University of Reading, analyzed the rate at which the oceans are absorbing heat from the sun and measured the extent of which heat is getting trapped in our atmosphere. The oceans currently have a rate of warming that has quadrupled since 1985, and the Earth's energy imbalance (EEI) has roughly doubled since 2010. Energy imbalance measures how much heat is being trapped in the Earth's atmosphere, a problem ever contributing to our growing levels of global warming. However, recent data in 2024 shows a drop in EEI from a record spike in 2023. Although this is not enough to signify a solid trend at this point, it may be a good sign that efforts to preserve the environment may not have been futile. 

    Increased temperatures can have many adverse effects on marine life, most of them negative. Around 2013-2016, extremely warm waters led to a significant growth of toxic algae, poisoning a large number of fish and mammals in the area. Shellfish, sea lion, and other various fish were effected, negatively impacting the ecosystem in the area and disrupting food sources for many species, including humans. If we can each do our part to not produce waste and reduce our carbon emissions, we can hopefully help these animals and ourselves by bettering the environment.

Lohan, Tara. “Marine Animals Are Feeling the Heat from Ocean Warming • the Revelator.” The Revelator, The Revelator, 22 Jan. 2024, therevelator.org/marine-heatwave-animals/#:~:text=A%20study%20published%20in%20May,cooler%20water%20of%20the%20poles. 

Cuff, Madeleine. “Surge in Ocean Heat Is a Sign Climate Change Is Accelerating.” New Scientist, New Scientist Ltd., 28 Jan. 2025, www.newscientist.com/article/2465689-surge-in-ocean-heat-is-a-sign-climate-change-is-accelerating/.