Short-term extreme marine heat wave events superimposed on stressors from longer-term climate change produce compound extreme events that impact the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem.
Pacific Ocean
When Forests on Land Burn, Forests Underwater Feel the Impact
Kelp is a habitat, a carbon sink, and a binding agent in your ice cream. But new research shows that California’s kelp forests are affected by the fate of their counterparts on land.
Ocean Warming Is Wiping Out Southern California’s Mussel Beds
Historic photographs reveal the dramatic retreat of mollusks as warmer waters take a toll on the health of the intertidal zone.
Nutrients at Depth Can Be Uplifted by the Kuroshio Large Meander
Aperiodic, southward deflection of the Kuroshio, a.k.a. the Kuroshio large meander, uplifts the nutrients in deep layers to induce offshore phytoplankton bloom.
ENSO Variations Modulate the Kuroshio in the East China Sea
Recent warm El Niño Southern Oscillation events strengthened winds over the western Subtropical North Pacific, leading to planetary waves with cyclonic eddies, weakening the Kuroshio in the East China Sea.
Ocean Warming Sets the Stage for Dangerous but Predictable East Africa Droughts
Scientists have uncovered a connection between temperature gradients in the Pacific Ocean and deadly but predictable consecutive dry spells in East Africa.
Ocean Deserts Could Help Capture CO2 and Mitigate Global Warming
Various nutrient sources in the upper waters of oceanic subtropical gyres, which are the Earth’s largest oligotrophic ecosystems, play a crucial role in governing the sequestration of atmospheric CO2.
Bolstered by Buoys: Predicting El Niño
Scientists investigate the importance of a Pacific buoy network in monitoring and predicting the El Niño–Southern Oscillation.
Crowdsourced Science Pulls Off a Daring WWII Data Rescue
Newly declassified documents are making wartime weather observations in the Pacific Theater more robust, and could improve climate models today.
Pliocene Conveyer Belt in the Pacific
Ocean Drilling Program cores and helium isotopes put better constraints on the ocean circulation in the north Pacific.
