On the seabed of Great Blue Hole, An underwater sinkhole located in the heart of the Lighthouse Reef, in the Caribbean Sea, years ago a disconcerting discovery was made: some researchers identified the presence of plastica disturbing signal of our environmental impact.
Today the Great Blue Hole returns to be talked about for another reason, equally worrying. An international research group, led by the Goethe University, noted that In the last 5700 years the frequency of extreme atmospheric phenomena has increased constantly. And for the 21st century, the team provides for a further increase in regional storms. The cause? Climate change.
But how did these results come? Through the analysis of the sediments that have accumulated on the seabed over the millennia, perfectly preserved. The researchers picked up a 30 -meter long sediment carrot, containing 5700 years of climatic history, and from there they extrapolated crucial information on the atmospheric phenomena that have characterized the surface over time.
Since the tropical storms and hurricanes leave larger, and white or white in color on the seabed, compared to other events, the group led by Professor Eberhard Gischler managed to reconstruct their frequency. The result was shocking: if their incidence is generally increased over the centuries (for a total of 574 extreme phenomena in the last 5700 years), in the last 20 years there has been further growth. The cause is clearly linked, as we said, to global overheating.
Based on these data, researchers have formulated Forecast for the future Which are not at all reassuring: in our century an average of about 45 tropical storms and hurricanes in this region is estimated, a significantly higher number than the last millennia.
Sources: Science Advances/Goethe University
