Florida estuaries are warming even faster than global oceans
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As global ocean temperatures continue to rise, Tampa Bay and other Florida estuaries have warmed even faster, according to new research from University of South Florida scientists.
Why it matters: That's bad news for the seagrass, fish and other marine life that call Tampa Bay home, study co-author and USF professor Chuanmin Hu told Axios.
- Warmer water also complicates ongoing efforts to restore the bay's struggling seagrass population, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
What they did: Along with Tampa Bay, researchers looked at Florida Bay west of the Florida Keys, the Caloosahatchee River estuary near Fort Myers and the St. Lucie estuary on the east coast.
What they found: Between 2003 and 2023, sea surface temperatures rose 67% faster than the Gulf of Mexico and 500% faster than global oceans, per a news release announcing the findings. That trend has accelerated over the last decade, the study notes.
- Those estuaries have also warmed faster than similar bodies of water around Florida and in other states, Hu said, "which is not good news."
- Among the possible reasons: higher air temperatures spurred by climate change and the relatively shallow depth of estuaries, he said.
Threat level: Plant and animal life may not be able to adapt fast enough to the accelerating temperatures, Hu said. Warm water can also feed algae growth.
- Algal blooms block sunlight, release toxins and, when they die, consume oxygen, which is all harmful to marine life, Hu said.
Case in point: Old Tampa Bay, tucked between South Tampa and Central Pinellas County, is home to an algae species called pyrodinium that has similar impacts to red tide in the Gulf, Hu said.
Between the lines: The findings add to recent research from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program that found Tampa Bay has grown both warmer and less salty.
- The group has been working to restore more than 11,000 acres of seagrass lost since 2016 — nearly a third of the total population.
The bottom line: "To keep Tampa Bay's seagrass meadows healthy, we may need to do more to offset the effects of climate change on water quality," the group said in an Instagram post announcing the study.