ME41B:
Pacific Ocean Anomalies of 2014–2015: Consequences for Marine Ecosystems I
ME41B:
Pacific Ocean Anomalies of 2014–2015: Consequences for Marine Ecosystems I
Pacific Ocean Anomalies of 2014–2015: Consequences for Marine Ecosystems I
Session ID#: 11327
Session Description:
Unusual atmospheric and ocean conditions existed across much of the North Pacific in 2014 and early 2015, especially in middle to high latitudes. Sea surface temperature anomalies reached >2.5º C in the central Gulf of Alaska (colloquially referred to as ‘The Blob’); it has been suggested that these conditions are related to an unusually strong and persistent pattern of elevated atmospheric pressure in the region, the ‘Ridiculously Resilient Ridge’. In parts of the California Current System (CCS), temperature anomalies exceeded 5º C. It is not clear whether the warming off the west coast of North America is directly related to the high latitude anomalies, or is part of a separate regional warming near the southern end of the CCS. Numerous biological perturbations have been associated with the NE Pacific ocean/atmosphere anomalies, including depressed Chl-a, geographic shifts of zooplankton and other taxa, reduced biomass of some small pelagic fishes, increased pinniped strandings, altered breeding success and survivorship of some seabirds, etc. This session invites contributions pertaining to physical oceanographic and atmospheric conditions during 2014-2015, or evidence for biological or biogeochemical responses. We encourage both observational evidence and models representing the dynamical basis of the anomalous conditions and ecosystem responses.
Primary Chair: Mark D Ohman, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
Chairs: Nathan J Mantua, NOAA La Jolla, La Jolla, CA, United States, Nicholas A Bond, University of Washington Seattle Campus, Seattle, WA, United States and William J Sydeman, Farallon Institute, Petaluma, CA, United States
Moderators: Nicholas A Bond, University of Washington Seattle Campus, Seattle, WA, United States and Mark D Ohman, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
Student Paper Review Liaison: Mark D Ohman, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
Index Terms:
4215 Climate and interannual variability [OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL]
4273 Physical and biogeochemical interactions [OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL]
4815 Ecosystems, structure, dynamics, and modeling [OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL]
4858 Population dynamics and ecology [OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL]
Co-Sponsor(s):
- B - Biogeochemistry and Nutrients
- PC - Past, Present and Future Climate
- PO - Physical Oceanography/Ocean Circulation
- PP - Phytoplankton and Primary Production
Abstracts Submitted to this Session:
Persistent record-high temperatures in the North Pacific in 2014/2015: a climate hypothesis (91827)
The 2014-2015 Warming Anomaly in the Southern California Current System: Glider Observations (90583)
2014 and 2015 anomalies in temperature and the epipelagic fish community in the eastern Gulf of Alaska and implications for juvenile fish. (92338)
See more of: Marine Ecosystems