A recent expedition led by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) has uncovered alarming evidence of rising temperatures and desalination in the Arctic Ocean, driven by the phenomenon known as 'atlantification.'
This process, linked to climate change, involves the gradual influx of Atlantic waters into the Arctic due to increased glacial melt. According to oceanographer Patrizia Ziveri, the chief scientist of the campaign, 'The intrusion of Atlantic waters is transforming the Arctic into a warmer and less saline ocean, rapidly altering marine ecosystems and species distributions.'
The study highlights that this shift is changing primary and secondary productivity, allowing temperate species to expand their habitats northward, leading to increased competition for resources and heightened predation on Arctic species.
The BIOCAL expedition gathered samples to study marine biodiversity changes through calcifying plankton, crucial for regulating atmospheric CO2 and seawater chemistry. Conducted from August to September, the research vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa traveled from Vigo to Reykjavik, sampling across varying latitudes.
This multidisciplinary team, involving experts from several institutions, aims to understand the impacts of atlantification on water chemistry and pelagic ecosystems, emphasizing the urgent need for further research on marine biodiversity in the face of climate change.