UB experts take part in the report on Climate Change in Spanish marine environment

The main author of the report is the expert Diego K. Kersting. It evaluates the information about climate change in the Spanish marine environment, its effects and possible adaptation strategies, including all the marine areas and lots of biological, ecological and physicochemical varieties.

The report, which warns about the big vulnerability of the seas towards the climate change phenomenon, is made of 461 published projects in scientific journals, reports, doctoral thesis and conferences, which have been supervised by a team of experts from universities and institutes from Spain, like UB, CSIC and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography.

Seas getting more vulnerable every day

The study shows that both temperature and the sea level are increasing, and water is more getting more acidification due to the increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide. There are also changes in the ocean circulation, the stratification of water masses, the deep water outcropping which are rich in nutrients and the wave intensity in the Spanish coasts, among other indicators.

Worrying phenomena such as mass mortality, the decline of structure functioned species, decrease of primary production and global loss of biodiversity are also linked to the impact of the climate change. The marine invertebrateʼs death rate has increased in the Mediterranean, and the regression of Phanerogamae meadows Posidonia oceànica and macroalgal forest are clear. Invading species are benefiting from these changes. Climate change is also affecting the growth, reproduction and survival of lots of organisms, and it creates a big biodiversity and genetic diversity loss in the marine environment.

Higher temperature and more salinity in the future

The forecast of the report warns that water will experience a gradual warming in the 21th century, both in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean (0,2 - 0,3°C per decade) and the sea level will rise (2 - 5 mm per year), something which could provoke more salinity and water mass stratification, a phenomenon that affects the nutrient availability.

In the marine ecosystems, the climate change would affect organisms with carbonate skeletons negatively, among others, the species with commercial interest and communities which form the krill, main food for some marine mammals. However, some sea urchin communities -invertebrates that can turn algae lands in white lands- could benefit from the changes.

Avoiding an uncertain future for the marine ecosystem

The report warns that the adaptation measure development has to be a priority towards the growing evidence of the climate change. In order to avoid a future biodiversity loss and impoverishment in our seas, it is necessary to promote the preservation of the species and vulnerable habitats, the protection of specific areas throughout preserved marine areas, and the promotion of the fishing activity sustainability, apart from promoting scientific studies based on temporary series, among other initiatives.

«Cambio Climático en el Medio Marino Español: Impactos, Vulnerabilidad y Adaptación» is a report coordinated by Aída Velasco Munguira and José Ramón Picatoste (Oficina Española de Cambio Climático of Agriculture and Nutrition Ministry) within the third Program of National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (PNACC).

Link to read the report: