Green Options

The last time you visited an aquarium, you probably saw one. With their zebra-like stripes, multiple spines, and elaborate fins, they’re quite beautiful and incredibly distinctive. But red lionfish are also voracious carnivores that breed like rabbits and are poisonous to boot. And they’re invading the coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

A new study focusing on the Southern Ocean by scientists from the University of New South Wales, Australia, in tandem with researchers from the University of Paderborn and the Technical University of Dresden in Germany, has found previously unknown gyres that could play a massive part in the planet’s climate.

“The water in the gyres does not mix well with the rest of the ocean, so for long periods these gyres can trap pollutants, nutrients, drifting plants and animals, and become physical barriers that divert even major ocean currents,” says Dr Gary Froyland, a UNSW mathematician.

Perhaps one of the more confusing factors regarding global warming is the suggestion that parts of the planet will indeed get a whole lot colder. It doesn’t seem to equate, does it?

Surely, as harmful emissions trap heat from the sun, then logic would dictate that the planet would uniformly heat up as a result.

Well, perhaps that is a little outmoded now. The constant reporting on climate change has left a majority of us with a good grasp of the situation. Perhaps that’s why I personally feel “climate chaos” best describes the planet’s current transition.