Climate change is depleting deep sea oxygen, but tides are helping to keep the ocean healthy

Tom Rippeth; Ben Lincoln

Climate change is depleting deep sea oxygen, but tides are helping to keep the ocean healthy

School of Ocean Sciences

Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article

Abstract

Without sufficient oxygen to respire properly, fish experience the same problems as high-altitude mountaineers. Even relatively small oxygen deficits mean they become sluggish, their reproduction is affected and their growth is stunted.

That’s one reason an oxygen deficit deep in the oceans is a problem – and climate change is making it worse.

But we have recently published research in Nature Communications which shows how storms interact with the tide in summer to play an important role in churning up the oceans and “mixing down” oxygen. This mixing helps maintain healthy conditions in deeper coastal seas around the UK and elsewhere.

Original language	English
Specialist publication	The Conversation
Publication status	Published - 22 Apr 2024

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 13 Climate Action
SDG 14 Life Below Water

Keywords

Climate change
Deep sea

Access to Document

https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-depleting-deep-sea-oxygen-but-tides-are-helping-to-keep-the-ocean-healthy-228031Licence: CC BY-ND

1 Active

Enabling Sustainable Wind Energy Expansion in Seasonally Stratified Seas (eSWEETS3)
Rippeth, T. (PI)
1/05/24 → 31/03/27
Project: Research

3 Article

The deepwater oxygen deficit in stratified shallow seas is mediated by diapycnal mixing
Rippeth, T., Shen, S., Lincoln, B., Scannell, B., Meng, X., Hopkins, J. & Sharples, J., 11 Apr 2024, In: Nature Communications. 15, 3136, 1 p., 15:3136.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Open Access
File
95 Downloads (Pure)
An ‘extreme’ heatwave has hit the seas around the UK and Ireland – here’s what’s going on
Rippeth, T., 23 Jun 2023, The Conversation.
Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article
Wind turbines can breathe new life into our warming seas
Lincoln, B., Rippeth, T. & Dorrell, R., 4 Mar 2022, The Conversation.
Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article

Open Access

Cite this

@misc{8dd30cde24894ef0b1d35f839c96bfdd,

title = "Climate change is depleting deep sea oxygen, but tides are helping to keep the ocean healthy",

abstract = "Without sufficient oxygen to respire properly, fish experience the same problems as high-altitude mountaineers. Even relatively small oxygen deficits mean they become sluggish, their reproduction is affected and their growth is stunted. That{\textquoteright}s one reason an oxygen deficit deep in the oceans is a problem – and climate change is making it worse. But we have recently published research in Nature Communications which shows how storms interact with the tide in summer to play an important role in churning up the oceans and “mixing down” oxygen. This mixing helps maintain healthy conditions in deeper coastal seas around the UK and elsewhere.",

keywords = "Climate change, Deep sea",

author = "Tom Rippeth and Ben Lincoln",

year = "2024",

month = apr,

day = "22",

language = "English",

journal = "The Conversation",

}

TY - GEN

T1 - Climate change is depleting deep sea oxygen, but tides are helping to keep the ocean healthy

AU - Rippeth, Tom

AU - Lincoln, Ben

PY - 2024/4/22

Y1 - 2024/4/22

N2 - Without sufficient oxygen to respire properly, fish experience the same problems as high-altitude mountaineers. Even relatively small oxygen deficits mean they become sluggish, their reproduction is affected and their growth is stunted. That’s one reason an oxygen deficit deep in the oceans is a problem – and climate change is making it worse. But we have recently published research in Nature Communications which shows how storms interact with the tide in summer to play an important role in churning up the oceans and “mixing down” oxygen. This mixing helps maintain healthy conditions in deeper coastal seas around the UK and elsewhere.

AB - Without sufficient oxygen to respire properly, fish experience the same problems as high-altitude mountaineers. Even relatively small oxygen deficits mean they become sluggish, their reproduction is affected and their growth is stunted. That’s one reason an oxygen deficit deep in the oceans is a problem – and climate change is making it worse. But we have recently published research in Nature Communications which shows how storms interact with the tide in summer to play an important role in churning up the oceans and “mixing down” oxygen. This mixing helps maintain healthy conditions in deeper coastal seas around the UK and elsewhere.

KW - Climate change

KW - Deep sea

M3 - Article

JO - The Conversation

JF - The Conversation

ER -

Climate change is depleting deep sea oxygen, but tides are helping to keep the ocean healthy

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Projects

Enabling Sustainable Wind Energy Expansion in Seasonally Stratified Seas (eSWEETS3)

Research output

The deepwater oxygen deficit in stratified shallow seas is mediated by diapycnal mixing

An ‘extreme’ heatwave has hit the seas around the UK and Ireland – here’s what’s going on

Wind turbines can breathe new life into our warming seas

Cite this