Tracking Marine Heat Waves

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https://eos.org/articles/tracking-marine-heat-waves

By Robin Donovan, Eos/AGU. 

Excerpt: Heat waves have spiked in recent years. The United States is now scorched by about six per year, compared to just two annually in the 1960s. At sea, marine heat waves such as the Blob, which warmed waters off the U.S. West Coast from 2013 to 2016, are becoming hotter over time. Now, scientists have discovered that more intense, longer-lasting heat waves on continental shelves can strike the ocean bottom independently from the surface. Excess heat disrupts oceanic ecosystems and thwarts the ocean’s twin promises of cooling and carbon sequestration. ...data revealed bottom marine heat waves that lasted up to 6 months and were 0.5°C–3°C warmer than average. These spikes are enough to stress or kill species that live on continental shelves: lobsters, Dungeness crab, Pacific cod, oysters, clams, and other bottom dwellers, Amaya said. The hot spells sometimes occurred concurrently at the surface, but not always.... 

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