The warming of our planet’s atmosphere is old news and we know that it’s affecting waters as well but it looks like lakes are getting warmer than oceans.
- Water temperature affects the habitat of fish
- Water temperature is rising each decade with more the half a degree
- Lake Superior is one of the most rapidly warming lakes
Yes, we talk again about global warming. The reason is obvious – this is by far the most pressing issue of the world at the moment. This and, of course, terrorism. But while terrorism is threatening to end people’s lives, global warming threats to end the world’s life.
The changing of our planet’s climate means first of all, a change in temperature. And the change in temperature can have a great impact on the environment – plants, animals and eventually, people. The fact that glaciers are melting doesn’t only threat to flood the continents or make the Earth wobble on its own axis, but it means that life forms living in the water will be greatly affected.
For example, if we take the first thing that comes to mind when we think about water, fish are going to suffer from the change in temperature. Their habitats will be disrupted and some of them will have to ‘migrate’ and find new homes that have a more suitable temperature for their way of living. But what happens when there is no such place anymore and waters get simply too warm for any creature to survive?
According to research, the water in lakes is rising in temperature faster than the water in oceans and faster than the atmosphere’s temperature. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation together with NASA and found that lakes are warming about 0.6 degrees per decade.
Although it’s more difficult for us to understand how dangerous this is as half a degree seems like nothing, the life of plants and animals is affected. Some types of algae that are poisonous find the new climate favorable for blooming and intoxicating the waters.
The study had 235 lakes as subjects and one of the most rapidly warming lakes was Lake Superior. The water temperature of this lake has risen 4 degrees from 1979 to 2007. Although, it will still remain cold for a very long time, the fact that the water is warming up gives us an idea of how fast global warming is happening.
The reason why lakes are better indicators of climate change is that while the atmosphere’s temperature is fluctuating, the temperature in lakes is quite stable so it takes a lot more to change it.
Image source: www.bing.com
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