Ocean’s SOS: The Looming Threat of Deoxygenation on Marine Life

Enhanced oxygen levels in the tropical ocean during an abrupt global warming event in geological history
Oxygen is essential for maintaining life on Earth. The ocean receives its oxygen from the top layers that are in contact with the atmosphere. However, as the Earth warms, the ocean’s ability to hold oxygen is slowly diminishing, leading to significant impacts on marine ecosystems and the human activities reliant on them. Although it is expected that these trends will persist, the future distribution of oxygen within the ocean’s interior remains uncertain. This is because ocean currents and the biological breakdown of biomass have a greater influence than atmospheric diffusion in these regions.

“Marine sediments are the history book of the ocean. By studying past intervals of time in which temperatures increased rapidly, we can gain precious insights on how ocean oxygen and biology responded to changes in climate,” said Simone Moretti who is the lead author of a now published in the research journal Science.