What’s up with Bosphorus?

  • A sudden change in the colour of the Bosphorus Strait that divides the continents of Europe and Asia in Turkey’s largest city Istanbul has surprised residents, with scientists putting it down to a surge in a species of plankton across the Black Sea.

Bosphorus Strait:

  • It is a natural strait connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, thus being a very strategic waterway.
  • It’s length is 32 kilometers (20 miles) in the north to south direction.
  • Bosphorus strait separates the European part from the Asian part of Istanbul.

Reason behind colour change:

  • The cause was a surge in numbers of the micro-organism Emiliania huxleyi. One of the most successful life-forms on the planet, Emiliania huxleyi is a single-celled organism visible only under a microscope.
  • Its astonishing adaptability enables it to thrive in waters from the equator to the sub-Arctic.

bosporus strait

Source:TH

Leave a Reply