Alarm in two gulfs of the Mediterranean: "We have come to that bad scenario"

Salihoğlu underlined that the sea turbidity was much higher than what he had measured so far in the last expedition and said, "The turbid water we saw showed that the sea turbidity was much higher than what we had measured so far. Light transmittance is very low. Algae proliferation is very high. This situation may cause harmful algae that may grow in the gulfs to pose a threat to human health." he said.

Noting that one of the most striking results of the expedition was the decrease in oxygen in the sea, Salihoğlu continued his words as follows:

"- While oxygen should normally be around 7 milligrams per liter in the bottom water in the Iskenderun and Mersin gulfs, it has dropped to 4, halved, this is very striking. It gives serious signals, this drop in oxygen is very worrying. We can say that as we go west, for example, in the Gulf of Antalya, the water quality increases and oxygen deficiency is not observed. These regions have more dynamic sea conditions and circulation, but are also sensitive. Terrestrial inputs should be taken into consideration."

Pointing out that high temperatures change the sea structure and oxygen solubility, Salihoğlu said, "The acceleration of the breakdown of bacteria is an additional contribution to the decrease in oxygen. We think that the increase in pollution and the increase in temperature together cause this decrease in oxygen." he said.

Salihoğlu warned that the increase in pollution, increased turbidity of water and decrease in oxygen in recent years point to a worse situation, especially in the gulfs of the Mediterranean, and said:

"- Essentially, we were saying that the situation so far gave danger signals. We were saying that this increase in pollution would lead to a worse scenario. I think we are in the middle of that scenario. This decrease in oxygen was what we were afraid of, so we have come to that worst scenario."