Overview
- A peer-reviewed analysis published this week combines measurements from 1950–2025 and shows temperature and salinity increases across the Mediterranean with the fastest acceleration concentrated in the Adriatic Sea.
- The warming signal now reaches hundreds to thousands of metres, with reported acceleration rates in some regions of roughly 0.3°C per decade in the upper 1,000–2,000 metres and surface salinity rises in the Adriatic near 0.11 practical salinity units per decade.
- Because warmer water holds less oxygen and the study finds heat and salt penetrating deep layers, researchers say the changes could weaken or reconfigure deep-water formation and cut the oxygen supply that sustains deep-sea life.
- The result rests on a merged record of ship profiles, Argo floats and regional Adriatic observations and includes sensitivity checks to data coverage, but the study does not identify which physical drivers are causing the acceleration.
- Authors are calling for targeted process studies and a review of climate models to test whether current models capture the observed speed and depth of change and to clarify likely impacts for coastal weather and marine ecosystems.