🌊🧽 Who knew that humble sponges chilling in the deep Caribbean could be keepers of Earth's climate secrets? Well, turns out they might be telling us that our planet is heating up faster than we thought!
A team of scientists studied centuries-old sponges from the depths of the Caribbean Sea. These aren't your everyday kitchen sponges; they're ancient creatures filtering water for hundreds of years. 📚🔬
By analyzing growth records from just six of these long-lived sponges, scientists discovered that we've already blown past the 1.5°C global warming limit agreed upon internationally. As of 2020, they say we've hit 1.7°C since pre-industrial times! 😱🌡️
The sponges' growth patterns reflect changes in water temperature, acidity, and carbon dioxide levels in the air, all crucial indicators of climate change. Their findings were published in the latest issue of Nature Climate Change.
But wait, there's more! In recent years, we've seen more extreme weather—massive floods, raging storms, intense droughts, and scorching heat waves. 🔥🌪️🌊 Scientists like Amos Winter, a paleo oceanographer at Indiana State University, think this could be because the planet is warming more than we initially calculated.
This study even backs up the idea proposed by former NASA scientist James Hansen that climate change is speeding up. 🚀
\"This is not good news for global climate change as it implies more warming,\" said Natalie Mahowald, a climate scientist at Cornell University who wasn't involved in the study. 🌍💔
Time to pay attention to what these sponges are telling us and step up our game in combating climate change! 🌱✊
Reference(s):
Can sponges tell whether the planet has warmed more than we thought?
cgtn.com
