Le barriere coralline del Pacifico settentrionale stanno perdendo il loro colore, un fenomeno inedito per la sua ampiezza, in ragione di un innalzamento della temperatura degli oceani.
E’ quanto affermato da un oceanografo dell'università delle Hawaii, Karl Fellenius. La situazione sarebbe particolarmente evidente alle Isole Marshall, dove lo “sbiancamento” dei coralli osservato dalla metà di settembre sarebbe “il peggiore mai registrato”. Secondo C. Mark Eakin, responsabile della sorveglianza delle barriere coralline all'Agenzia nazionale americana oceanica e atmosferica (NOAA), il fenomeno interesserebbe tutto il Pacifico settentrionale.
Lo sbiancamento corallino è un fenomeno naturale che avviene nei luoghi con poca circolazione d' acqua, in periodi di maree di bassa intensità e di forti calure, a piccole profondità. Tuttavia l'ampiezza del fenomeno in esame sembra poter essere spiegato solo con le emissioni di gas a effetto serra che fanno aumentare la temperatura degli oceani.
Red.MM/ANSA/AFP/Swing
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