First assessment of bottom marine heat waves opens a window on the deep.
The 2013-2016 marine heat wave known as “The Blob” warmed a vast expanse of surface waters across the northeastern Pacific, disrupting West Coast marine ecosystems, depressing salmon returns, and damaging commercial fisheries. It also prompted a wave of research on extreme warming of ocean surface waters.
But, as new research shows, marine heat waves also happen deep underwater.
A new study by “This research is particularly significant as the oceans continue to warm, not only at the surface but also at depth, impacting marine habitat along continental shelves,” said NCAR scientist Clara Deser, a co-author of the study, published in The study comes amid concerns about the impacts of increasingly common marine heat waves, which can dramatically impact the health of ocean ecosystems around the globe. About 90% of the excess heat from global warming has been absorbed by the ocean, which has warmed by about 1.5 degrees
For more on this research, see Heat Waves Happen at the Bottom of the Ocean Too.
Reference: “Bottom marine heatwaves along the continental shelves of North America” by Dillon J. Amaya, Michael G. Jacox, Michael A. Alexander, James D. Scott, Clara Deser, Antonietta Capotondi and Adam S. Phillips, 13 March 2023, Nature Communications.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36567-0