SOURCE: Heriot-Watt University
DATE: November 8, 2018
SNIP: Climate change may be occurring even faster than first thought.
That is according to a ground-breaking new study by Dr Clayton Magill from the Lyell Centre at Heriot-Watt University.
Scientists measured the vast migration of sea bed materials such as clay and sand, a process that occurs over thousands of years.
The research found that constant movement resulted in the erosion of ancient fossils trapped within the ocean floor and that these fossils release their harmful carbon dioxide, which is a strong greenhouse gas.
Researchers previously thought that the rate of erosion on these fossils was significantly slower – hence climate change was slower.
Now the study, published in Nature sheds new light on the how fast climate change is actually happening.
“There’s still a lot to discover about climate change and marine pollution over time, but this study highlights the fact that climate change could be happening a lot faster than academics once thought possible.”