Heatwaves unfolding on the bottom of the ocean can be more intense and last longer than those on the sea surface, new research suggests, but such extremes in the deep ocean are often overlooked.
The assessment, published in the journal Nature Communications, used computer models of the ocean and observations to analyze seafloor heatwaves. It found that while sometimes a marine heatwave can hit both the sea surface and ocean bottom at the same time, bottom heatwaves can also occur on their own.
The ocean has absorbed about 90% of the excess heat from global warming, with the ocean's average temperature increasing by about 1.5C over the last century. Marine heatwaves have become about 50% more frequent over the past decade. "It's a little less clear if climate change is strongly impacting bottom marine heatwaves in the same way it would at the surface," Amaya said, saying changes to ocean circulation patterns could also play a role.
Past bottom marine heatwaves have decimated Pacific cod and snow crab populations. "Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska is an important fishery and … that population has declined by 75% following the big marine heatwave in 2015," said Michael Jacox, a scientist at NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center.
Warmer water, he said, can increase the energy needs of species at the same time that there's less prey available for them to eat, leading to more deaths and fewer births.Gloria Dickie reports on climate and environmental issues for Reuters. She is based in London. Her interests include biodiversity loss, Arctic science, the cryosphere, international climate diplomacy, climate change and public health, and human-wildlife conflict.
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