
An analysis of oxygen levels in Earth’s oceans may provide some rare, good news about the health of the seas in a future, globally warmed world.
A Rutgers-led study published inNatureanalyzingocean sedimentshows that ocean oxygen levels in a key area were higher during the Miocenewarm period, some 16 million years ago when the Earth’s temperature was hotter than it is today.
In recent decades, levels of life-sustaining oxygen in the ocean have been decreasing, raising concerns that oxygen-deficient zones in key parts of the world oceans will expand, further harming marine life.
Scientists have attributed the trend toclimate change-induced rising temperatures, which affect the amount of oxygen that can be absorbed from the atmosphere.
“Our study…
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