The Mediterranean Sea is warming faster and becoming saltier, reveals a study carried out by a team of Spanish scientists.
The study by the Spanish research institute, ICM-CSIC, published in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, shows that the water in the western Mediterranean is warming by two degrees per century.
In some places, such as L’Estartit on the Costa Brava, this warming is even reaching three degrees per century.
The results are based on the evaluation of long-term data measured at different depths.
The salinity of the water is also increasing. The Mediterranean Sea has a higher level of saltiness than the Atlantic Ocean as the evaporation of water is greater than the contribution of the rivers that flow into the sea.
Exchanges of water with the Atlantic are also limited because of the narrowness of the Strait of Gibraltar.
Furthermore, the level of the Mediterranean Sea is rising by 2.8 millimetres a year, according to the study. Its rise has accelerated since the 1990s.
