Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Scientists Monitoring New Marine Heat Wave off West Coast
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
September 6, 2019

Share

SEATTLE — Federal scientists said Thursday they are monitoring a new ocean heat wave off the U.S. West Coast, a development that could badly disrupt marine life including salmon, whales and sea lions.

“Given the magnitude of what we saw last time, we want to know if this evolves on a similar path.” — Chris Harvey, a research scientist at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center
The expanse of unusually warm water stretches from Alaska to California, researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday. It resembles a similar heat wave about five years ago that was blamed for poorer survival rates for young salmon, more humpback whales becoming entangled in fishing gear as they hunted closer to shore, and an algae bloom that shut down crabbing and clamming.
“Given the magnitude of what we saw last time, we want to know if this evolves on a similar path,” said Chris Harvey, a research scientist at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center.
NOAA Fisheries said the water has reached temperatures more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit above average. It remains to be seen whether this heat wave dissipates more quickly than the last one, the agency said.
If it lingers, it could be disastrous for the Pacific Northwest’s endangered orcas, which largely depend on chinook salmon. The warmer waters can weaken the food web that sustain the salmon and bring predators of young salmon, including seabirds, closer to shore, further reducing their abundance. Chinook returns have been extremely low in recent years following the last heat wave, which scientists dubbed “the blob.”

A Persistent Low-Pressure Weather Pattern

The new heat wave has emerged over the last few months, growing in a similar pattern in the same area. After “the blob,” it’s the second-most widespread heat wave in the northern Pacific Ocean in the last 40 years — as far back as the relevant data goes.
“It’s on a trajectory to be as strong as the prior event,” said Andrew Leising, a research scientist at NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California, who developed a way to use satellite data to track marine heat waves in the Pacific.
Among the causes is a persistent low-pressure weather pattern between Hawaii and Alaska that has weakened winds that otherwise might mix and cool surface waters across much of the North Pacific, said Nathan Mantua, a NOAA research scientist. What’s causing that, he said, is unclear: It might simply reflect the normal chaotic motion of the atmosphere, or it might be related to the warming of the oceans and other effects of human-made climate change.
The agency said it will provide fisheries managers with information on how the unusually warm conditions could affect the marine ecosystem and fish stocks.
The last heat wave spanned 2014 and 2015 and resulted in several declared fisheries disasters. Among the other effects, thousands of young sea lions were stranded on beaches after their mothers were forced to forage further from their rookeries in the Channel Islands off Southern California.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Man Convicted of Child Molestation During Burglary Faces Life Without Parole

DON'T MISS

What Local Politicians, LGBT Community Say About Trans Track Star

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Arrested After Stolen City Vehicle Pursuit, Fires in Madera County

DON'T MISS

Former MLB All-Star Breaks Ground on BMW/Porsche/Audi Dealership in Clovis

DON'T MISS

Fresno, Clovis to Open Cooling Centers as Temperatures Expected to Soar

DON'T MISS

Costco Misses Quarterly Revenue Expectations Amid Reduced Consumer Spending

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Authorities Respond to Double Shooting in Goshen

DON'T MISS

US Appeals Court Reinstates Trump Tariffs, Sowing Market Confusion

DON'T MISS

A Program Paying CA Jurors $100 a Day Would End Due to Newsom’s Budget Cuts

DON'T MISS

Some Glaciers Will Vanish No Matter What, Study Finds

UP NEXT

Canada Wants to Kill 400 Ostriches. RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz Want to Save Them.

UP NEXT

‘I’m Really Scared’: Elderly and Disabled Californians Could Lose Medi-Cal Over $2,000 Limit

UP NEXT

Could Aleko’s Playful Antics ‘Purrsuade’ You to Adopt Him?

UP NEXT

California Avocado Growers Say Mexican Imports Have Helped Their Sales

UP NEXT

Business Insider Cuts 21% of Workforce, Memo Shows

UP NEXT

CA Changes Track-and-Field Championships After Trans Athlete’s Success. What to Know

UP NEXT

Republican Vote Against EV Mandate Felt Like an Attack on California, Democrats Say

UP NEXT

The Pacific Coast Highway Is a Mythic Route Always in Need of Repair

UP NEXT

Harvard Agrees to Relinquish Early Photos of Slaves, Ending a Long Legal Battle

UP NEXT

Silence on E. Coli Outbreak Highlights How Trump Team’s Changes Undermine Food Safety

Former MLB All-Star Breaks Ground on BMW/Porsche/Audi Dealership in Clovis

10 hours ago

Fresno, Clovis to Open Cooling Centers as Temperatures Expected to Soar

11 hours ago

Costco Misses Quarterly Revenue Expectations Amid Reduced Consumer Spending

11 hours ago

Tulare County Authorities Respond to Double Shooting in Goshen

11 hours ago

US Appeals Court Reinstates Trump Tariffs, Sowing Market Confusion

11 hours ago

A Program Paying CA Jurors $100 a Day Would End Due to Newsom’s Budget Cuts

11 hours ago

Some Glaciers Will Vanish No Matter What, Study Finds

12 hours ago

Dealmaker or Duped? Trump’s Embrace of Putin Shows Few Results

12 hours ago

Fresno Will Build New Firehouse, Replacing ‘Temporary’ Station After 50 Years

12 hours ago

Canada Wants to Kill 400 Ostriches. RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz Want to Save Them.

12 hours ago

Tulare County Man Convicted of Child Molestation During Burglary Faces Life Without Parole

A Tulare County jury has convicted a Porterville man of molesting a 4-year-old girl during a home burglary in 2020, prosecutors said Thursda...

9 hours ago

Serafin Narcisco, 44, of Porterville, was convicted on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, of molesting a 4-year-old girl during a 2020 home burglary. (Tulare County SO)
9 hours ago

Tulare County Man Convicted of Child Molestation During Burglary Faces Life Without Parole

9 hours ago

What Local Politicians, LGBT Community Say About Trans Track Star

A man accused of stealing a City of Fresno vehicle was arrested Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Madera County after a pursuit that sparked small fires and ended with a crash. (Madera County SO)
9 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested After Stolen City Vehicle Pursuit, Fires in Madera County

10 hours ago

Former MLB All-Star Breaks Ground on BMW/Porsche/Audi Dealership in Clovis

11 hours ago

Fresno, Clovis to Open Cooling Centers as Temperatures Expected to Soar

11 hours ago

Costco Misses Quarterly Revenue Expectations Amid Reduced Consumer Spending

Tulare County sheriff’s detectives are investigating a double shooting in Goshen after two people were found wounded Thursday, May 29, 2025. (Tulare County SO)
11 hours ago

Tulare County Authorities Respond to Double Shooting in Goshen

11 hours ago

US Appeals Court Reinstates Trump Tariffs, Sowing Market Confusion

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend