Study: Earth’s lakes lose their “lungs” very quickly

New studies have confirmed that oxygen levels in the world’s temperate freshwater lakes are dropping very quickly, faster than the oceans, in a problem that is a real threat to the lungs of these lakes, in which fish and many creatures live

Research published in the specialized scientific journal “Nature” found that oxygen levels in lakes surveyed in temperate regions have decreased by 5.5% at the surface and 18.6% in deep waters since 1980.

“All complex life forms depend on oxygen. It is the support system of aquatic food webs. And when we start losing oxygen we lose other aquatic species,” said Kevin Rose, study author and professor at the Rensselaer Institute of Science.

“Lakes lose oxygen at a rate of 2.75 to 9.3 times faster than oceans, a reduction that will have effects throughout the ecosystem,” the researcher added.

Although lakes make up only about 3% of the Earth’s surface, they contain a high concentration of our planet’s biodiversity, according to the scientific journal Phys.

The scientist considered that “the lakes are indicators or (guardians) of environmental change and potential threats to the environment because they respond very quickly to other signals from the natural areas and the surrounding atmosphere, indicating the extent of ongoing atmospheric changes that have been greatly affected