Geological engineer Osman Bektaş has issued a stark warning about the impact of global climate change on the Black Sea.
"The continuous warming of the Black Sea is due to the impact of global climate change on the region. In fact, the global climate change affecting the Black Sea also influences all oceans worldwide," he said.
He noted that scientists have identified the Black Sea as a model to understand broader oceanic impacts, highlighting a significant warming trend observed every February between 2005 and 2019.
Bektaş points out that the warmer temperatures during winter months cause warm waters from Northern Europe to flow into the Black Sea, weakening its intermediate layer.
"As warm as winter gets, the waters coming from Northern Europe to the Black Sea also get warm, less snowmelt or warmer normal waters result in cold water not reaching the Black Sea, weakening its intermediate layer. Today's the Black Sea consists of three layers: an oxygenated upper layer between approximately 50 and 90 meters deep, an intermediate layer below it and a deep layer further below. This deep layer, saturated with highly toxic hydrogen sulfide gas, currently lies dormant. An intermediate layer protects the upper organisms from this toxic gas and layer. The problem is that warming waters each year thin, weaken and potentially breach this cold intermediate layer," he explained.
Bektaş also noted that the significantly higher warming of the eastern Black Sea compared to the western Black Sea will lead to intense rainfall in July and August. "The eastern Black Sea region has warmed much more than the western Black Sea. The warming water will evaporate much more, leading to heavy evaporation, especially in July and August, resulting in torrential rains and sudden heavy rains, which will further increase landslides and floods that we experience every year. Therefore, climate change is no longer a fantasy. Events resulting from climate change continue to affect people more and more each day and will continue to do so," he said.
Discussing the dangers of February 2024 being the hottest February on record so far, Bektaş said: "Unfortunately, in recent years, due to the rivers bringing warmer waters, not cold, the intermediate layer continuously weakens. The continuous weakening of the intermediate layer increases the likelihood of deep hydrogen sulfide water, which is highly toxic, rising upward. The dormant deep hydrogen sulfide water rising upwards could be a disaster for surface-dwelling organisms. This disaster scenario was predicted in 2019."
"However, as we reach 2024, the hottest February on record strengthens this disaster scenario. If this trend continues, the death of the Black Sea is inevitable. By death, I mean the inevitable disruption of its ecological balance. According to international scientific studies, one-third of the oxygenated area where organisms live in the Black Sea has disappeared. The continuous narrowing of the oxygenated level will inevitably confine the organisms to a much smaller area. From 140 meters down to 90 meters, this living environment has already shrunk. What will happen if this continues to shrink? The entire ecological balance will be completely destroyed," he added.
Bektaş emphasized that the Black Sea is in danger and said: "Due to climate change, increasing temperatures and evaporation lead to the disappearance or death of the Black Sea, affecting the climate in the surrounding areas. Today, the eastern Black Sea shows significant changes even in its rainfall patterns. Global climate change causes severe conditions everywhere but has particularly adverse effects in the Black Sea region. It disrupts the environment's ecological balance, and if this trend continues, the Black Sea will eventually be doomed to death. Most importantly, if the toxic hydrogen sulfide gas from the Black Sea's 2,100-meter depth continues to seep upward through the weakening intermediate layer daily, it will be a disaster for organisms in the upper layers. This is how the death of the Black Sea could unfold."