NOAA Fisheries’ Global Forecasts Predict Probability of Marine Heatwaves
Researchers at NOAA Fisheries say they’ve developed global forecasts that can provide up to a year’s advance notice of marine heatwaves, the sudden and pronounced rises in ocean temperatures that can dramatically impact ocean ecosystems.
These forecasts, as described in an article in the journal Nature could help seafood harvesters, fishery managers and coastal communities anticipate the effects of these heatwaves. The infamous 2013 heatwaves in the northeast Pacific Ocean, known as “the Blob,” resulted in shifting fish stocks, harmful algal blooms, entanglements of endangered humpback whales and thousands of starving sea lion pups washing up on beaches.
“We have seen marine heatwaves cause sudden and pronounced changes in ocean ecosystems around the world, and forecasts can he...