{"682921":{"#nid":"682921","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"The ocean is changing colors, researchers say. Here\u0027s what it means.","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWarming waters are causing the colors of the ocean to change \u2014 a trend that could impact humans if it were to continue, according to new research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESatellite data shows that ocean waters are getting greener at the poles and bluer toward the equator, according to a paper published Thursday in the journal \u003Cem\u003EScience\u003C\/em\u003E by a research team that included \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/people\/zhao-haipeng-0\u0022\u003EHaipeng Zhao\u003C\/a\u003E, postdoctoral fellow in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E (EAS), and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/lozier.eas.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESusan Lozier\u003C\/a\u003E, College of Sciences Dean, Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair, and EAS professor.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe change in hue is being caused by shifting concentrations of a green pigment called chlorophyll, which is produced by phytoplankton\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe presence of chlorophyll in open ocean is a proxy for concentrations of phytoplankton biomass. The colors indicate how chlorophyll concentration is changing at specific latitudes, in which the subtropics are generally losing chlorophyll, and the polar regions \u2014 the high-latitude regions \u2014 are greening, the researchers said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESimilar stories appeared at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/science\/article\/ocean-green-phytoplankton-california-color-change-20382197.php\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ESan Francisco Chronicle\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/local\/environment\/article308985125.html\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EMiami Herald\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E,\u003Cem\u003E \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/oceanographicmagazine.com\/news\/ocean-greening-at-its-poles-means-changes-afoot-for-fisheries\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EOceanographic Magazine\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/Earth.com\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EEarth.com\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.goodmorningamerica.com\/news\/story\/ocean-changing-colors-researchers-means-122927595\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EGood Morning America\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWarming waters are causing the colors of the ocean to change \u2014 a trend that could impact humans if it were to continue, according to new research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESatellite data shows that ocean waters are getting greener at the poles and bluer toward the equator, according to a paper published Thursday in the journal \u003Cem\u003EScience\u003C\/em\u003E by a research team that included \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/people\/zhao-haipeng-0\u0022\u003EHaipeng Zhao\u003C\/a\u003E, postdoctoral fellow in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E (EAS), and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/lozier.eas.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESusan Lozier\u003C\/a\u003E, College of Sciences Dean, Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair, and EAS professor.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe change in hue is being caused by shifting concentrations of a green pigment called chlorophyll, which is produced by phytoplankton\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe presence of chlorophyll in open ocean is a proxy for concentrations of phytoplankton biomass. The colors indicate how chlorophyll concentration is changing at specific latitudes, in which the subtropics are generally losing chlorophyll, and the polar regions \u2014 the high-latitude regions \u2014 are greening, the researchers said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESimilar stories appeared at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/science\/article\/ocean-green-phytoplankton-california-color-change-20382197.php\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ESan Francisco Chronicle\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/local\/environment\/article308985125.html\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EMiami Herald\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E,\u003Cem\u003E \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/oceanographicmagazine.com\/news\/ocean-greening-at-its-poles-means-changes-afoot-for-fisheries\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EOceanographic Magazine\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/Earth.com\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EEarth.com\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.goodmorningamerica.com\/news\/story\/ocean-changing-colors-researchers-means-122927595\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EGood Morning America\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"36583","created_gmt":"2025-06-27 14:44:29","changed_gmt":"2025-06-30 17:42:24","author":"lvidal7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"ABC News","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/ocean-changing-colors-researchers-means\/story?id=122927595","dateline":{"date":"2025-06-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-06-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"175593","name":"School  of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"},{"id":"181370","name":"oceanography"},{"id":"192254","name":"cos-climate"},{"id":"7561","name":"phytoplankton"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}