Scientists analyzing the temperature and salt levels of the Western Mediterranean Sea between 1943 and 2000 have found that the deep water has become progressively hotter and saltier, and that, since the 1990s, this process has speeded up.

Each year the temperature of the deep layer of the Western Mediterranean increases by 0.002ºC, and its salt levels increase by 0.001 units of salinity. These changes, although minimal from year to year, have been continuously and constantly occurring at a faster pace since the 1990s.

The results are consistent, "but to confirm this accelerating trend, we need to monitor it over the years to come", said Manuel Vargas-Yáñez, researcher at the Oceanic Centre of Malaga of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO).

Too often, scientists do an inadequate job of communicating information to the public in a factual, non-technical, credible and neutral format.

The authors of a new analysis of science communication in PNAS  say they have developed an effective communication strategy that could help experts connect with the public.

"More effective communication is badly needed at almost every level of science," said Kirsten Grorud-Colvert, a research associate in the Department of Zoology at Oregon State University. "It doesn't have to be expensive, but we have to get out of the ivory tower, away from our scientific jargon and work more closely with our various audiences."