Protecting the High Seas

Climate change, particularly rising temperatures, is destabilizing the ecological balance within the Sargasso Sea and the Costa Rica Thermal Dome which are critical areas that require marine conservation measures. In this project, we observed both short- and long-term biological changes in these high-seas locations, detecting seasonal patterns and the consequences of climate change through a time series analysis of simulated temperature data under several climate scenarios. We examined the relationship between rising fossil fuel usage and the frequency and severity of marine heatwaves and according to our data, zooplankton densities fall as carbon emissions rise, and sea surface heating tends to happen more frequently within exclusive economic zones, both of which could have disastrous effects on marine life. Projections suggest that the ecosystem could face severe consequences within a century providing compelling evidence of the urgent need for conservation projects in these high-seas regions.