Scotland’s seas warming up

Scotland’s seas are some of the cleanest in the UK, and a new report has revealed that they are getting deeper, saltier and warmer.

‘Scotland’s Seas: Towards Understanding their State’ was commissioned to be ready in time for the drawing up of the Scottish Marine Bill.

Researchers found that Scottish seas are getting warmer at a rate of around 0.3% every ten years, following similar patterns to the rest of the North Sea and the Atlantic. Salinity is also on the increase.

However, the rising temperatures are not all good news. Warmer oceans mean rising sea levels, both due to the melting of Arctic ice and the thermal expansion of the oceans.

This has resulted in 12% of the Scottish coast being vulnerable to erosion, a figure that is set to rise as sea temperatures increase further.

Other findings in the report include 40,000 species of plants and animals living in Scotland’s seas. The seas also generate around £2.2 billion from marine industries, excluding gas and oil extraction.