Turkish scientists prove mucilage consumes oxygen in Marmara Sea: media

ISTANBUL, June 24– Turkish scientists proved that mucilage consumes oxygen in the Marmara Sea, local media reported on Thursday. The Middle East Technical University researchers, who have been working on the mucilage problem in the Marmara Sea, have obtained the results of their experiments, the Haberturk daily said. On June 8, Turkey initiated a campaign to…

ISTANBUL, June 24 (Xinhua) — Turkish scientists proved that mucilage consumes oxygen in the Marmara Sea, local media reported on Thursday.

The Middle East Technical University (METU) researchers, who have been working on the mucilage problem in the Marmara Sea, have obtained the results of their experiments, the Haberturk daily said.

“We can clearly say that the water with mucilage consumes oxygen,” Mustafa Mantikci, a researcher of the METU Institute of Marine Sciences, was quoted as saying by Haberturk.

“If mucilage covers the seafloor, it will cause oxygen depletion, and therefore lead to the extinction of sea creatures,” he added.

The scientists also acquired new data from water samples taken from depths of 100 meters and 1,210 meters in the Marmara Sea.

They concluded that the mucilage is intense, especially in the upper 30 meters, but there is still oxygen in the deep waters, albeit low.

Last week, the Environment and Urbanization Ministry installed advanced tech devices to increase the dissolved oxygen in the sea.

Turkish authorities have also been considering shortening the fishing season in the Marmara Sea, according to press reports.

On June 8, Turkey initiated a campaign to clear the mucilage covering a large part of the Marmara Sea, an inland sea in the northwestern part of Turkey packed with industrial plants, where over 20 million people reside.

The substance has also infiltrated some parts of the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea, threatening the entire ecological system. Enditem