Peak Oil is You
Donate Bitcoins ;-) or Paypal :-)
Page added on April 15, 2015
The Bottom of the Food Chain Is Experiencing a Catastrophic Collapse
A 1,000 Mile Stretch Of The Pacific Ocean Has Heated Up Several Degrees And Scientists Don’t Know Why
According to two University of Washington scientific research papers that were recently released, a 1,000 mile stretch of the Pacific Ocean has warmed up by several degrees, and nobody seems to know why this is happening. This giant “blob” of warm water was first observed in late 2013, and it is playing havoc with our climate. And since this giant “blob” first showed up, fish and other sea creatures have been dying in absolutely massive numbers. So could there be a connection? And what is going to happen if the Pacific Ocean continues to warm up? Could we potentially be facing the greatest holocaust of sea life in the Pacific that anyone has ever observed? If so, what would that mean for the food chain and for our food supply?
For a large portion of the Pacific Ocean to suddenly start significantly heating up without any known explanation is a really big deal. The following information about this new research comes from the University of Washington…
“In the fall of 2013 and early 2014 we started to notice a big, almost circular mass of water that just didn’t cool off as much as it usually did, so by spring of 2014 it was warmer than we had ever seen it for that time of year,” said Nick Bond, a climate scientist at the UW-based Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, a joint research center of the UW and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Bond coined the term “the blob” last June in his monthly newsletter as Washington’s state climatologist. He said the huge patch of water – 1,000 miles in each direction and 300 feet deep – had contributed to Washington’s mild 2014 winter and might signal a warmer summer.
It would be one thing if scientists knew why this was happening and had an explanation for it.
But they don’t.
In fact, according to the Washington Post, they are calling this something that is “totally new”…
Scientists have been astonished at the extent and especially the long-lasting nature of the warmth, with one NOAA researcher saying, “when you see something like this that’s totally new you have opportunities to learn things you were never expecting.”
The following map comes from the NOAA, and it shows what this giant “blob” looks like…
According to CBS News, ocean temperatures inside this blob have risen anywhere from two to seven degrees Fahrenheit above normal…
This warm blob, which is about 2 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit (1 to 4 degrees Celsius) warmer than the usual temperature for this region, means the winter air that crosses over the Pacific Ocean wasn’t cooled as much as it normally would be. That, in turn, spelled warmer, dryer conditions for the West Coast.
Meanwhile, while this has been going on, scientists have also been noticing that sea creatures in the Pacific have been dying in record numbers.
In fact, last summer I wrote an article entitled “Why are massive numbers of sea creatures dying along the west coast right now?”
Since then, things have continued to get even worse.
For instance, it was recently reported that the number of sea lions washing up on Southern California beaches is at an all-time record high…
A record 2,250 sea lions, mostly pups, have washed up starving and stranded on Southern California beaches so far this year, a worsening phenomenon blamed on warming seas in the region that have disrupted the marine mammals’ food supply.
The latest tally, reported on Monday by the National Marine Fisheries Service, is 20 times the level of strandings averaged for the same three-month period over the past decade and twice the number documented in 2013, the previous worst winter season recorded for Southern California sea lions.
And of course fish are being deeply affected as well. Sardines have declined to their lowest level in six decades, and National Geographic says that a whole host of tiny fish species at the bottom of the food chain are dying off rapidly…
Since the 1950s, researchers every year have dropped nets 1,000 feet (300 meters) down to catalog marine life many miles off California. Most track commercially important species caught by the fishing industry. But J. Anthony Koslow tallies fish often credited with keeping marine systems functioning soundly—tiny midwater bristlemouths, the region’s most abundant marine species, as well as viperfish, hatchetfish, razor-mouthed dragonfish, and even minnow-like lampfish.
All are significant parts of the seafood buffet that supports life in the eastern Pacific, and all are declining dramaticallywith the vertical rise of low-oxygen water.
“If it was a 10 percent change, it wouldn’t have been worth noting, but they’ve declined by 63 percent,” says Koslow, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
So if the bottom of the food chain is experiencing a catastrophic collapse, what is that going to mean for the rest of the food chain in the Pacific Ocean?
In turn, what is that going to mean for the seafood industry and for the price of seafood in our grocery stores?
Some really strange things are happening on the other side of the Pacific right now as well.
Over in Japan, the media is buzzing about the recent mass beaching of 150 melon-headed whales. A similar incident was observed just six days before the great earthquake and tsunami of 2011. The following comes from the Japan Times…
The mass beaching of over 150 melon-headed whales on Japan’s shores has fueled fears of a repeat of a seemingly unrelated event in the country — the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed over 18,000 people.
Despite a lack of scientific evidence linking the two events, a flurry of online commentators have pointed to the appearance of around 50 melon-headed whales — a species that is a member of the dolphin family — on Japan’s beaches six days before the monster quake, which unleashed towering tsunami and triggered a nuclear disaster.
Very strange stuff.
For our entire lives, we have been able to take for granted that our oceans would always be stable and healthy.
But now it appears that things may be changing.
So what do you think about all of this?
37 Comments on "The Bottom of the Food Chain Is Experiencing a Catastrophic Collapse"
Plantagenet on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 8:16 pm
The warming in the ocean is happening because of global warming. Numerous studies have shown that much of the heat being trapped by Greenhouse gases is being stored in the oceans. The result of heating the oceans is that ocean waters become warmer—-I can’t imagine why this seems so mysterious to so many people.
John Kintree on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 8:36 pm
Well said, Plantagenet.
welch on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 8:37 pm
I’m glad I didn’t have kids.
BobInget on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 10:22 pm
While I too believe ‘the Blob’ is AGW caused, we can’t rule out undersea volcanic heat vent action.
jedrider on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 10:44 pm
I guess it interesting to contemplate which system will fail first, land agriculture or the ocean’s biosystem.
Seems like we have some more control of land as there’s not much we can do to augment the ocean system, except STOP extracting so much.
It does seem to be all crashing down at once, though, so maybe it is moot which goes first.
apneaman on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 10:59 pm
More Heat for the Human Hothouse: NASA Shows First Three Months of 2015 Were Warmest on Record
“With El Nino firing off in the Pacific and polar amplification pushing to ever-greater extremes in the Arctic, 2015 is following hot on the heels of 2014’s record warmth. A situation that is increasing the likelihood that the 2014-2015 period will feature back-to-back record breaking years.”
https://robertscribbler.wordpress.com/2015/04/15/more-heat-for-the-human-hothouse-nasa-shows-record-warm-start-to-2015/#comments
apneaman on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 11:03 pm
New Video: The Trouble at Totten Glacier
‘The decades-long unfolding of this story – that vast areas of ice once thought to be invulnerable on time scales meaningful to humans, may in fact already be in the process of disintegration – is one that that the vast majority of humanity still does not understand, and that the media has been unwilling to track. It’s a realization that, one top expert told us, even seasoned ice sheet veterans find “shattering”.’
http://climatecrocks.com/2015/04/14/new-video-the-trouble-at-totten-glacier/
Makati1 on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 11:39 pm
BobInget, I thought about of the volcanic source also, but that should be easy to prove in 300 feet of water. That they “have no idea” is more alarming. Cover-up?
Just more proof that our days are drawing to a close as a species on this planet.
Bandits on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 11:44 pm
“we can’t rule out undersea volcanic heat vent action”. What area of your anatomy did you pull that piece of crap from?
agramante on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 12:17 am
Undersea volcanoes emit a tiny amount of heat compared to insolation from the sun, bobinget. The oceans capture as much as 97% of the additional warming due to global warming, and while we don’t understand anything close to the full dynamics of the ocean, plenty of symptoms of that are on view. This blob is very likely one, but since we haven’t identified the mechanism, that can’t be said with great confidence. But polar amplification–the disproportionate collection of heat at the north and south poles–is much better understood. Arctic and antarctic sea ice are dramatically in decline. And while melting sea ice doesn’t increase sea level–at least, not unless it’s a grounded glacier that would sink further if the sea floor were deeper–there are plenty of other consequences. Our times are getting more interesting.
apneaman on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 12:32 am
Makati, contrary to the popular denier myth memes that climate scientists are alarmists, the fact is they are the most genuine conservative people on the planet. I not overly fond of big cover ups, but I do not think it is implausible that the government might have or may in the future “request” that one or more scientists change some wording or even hold off on publishing a paper…..you know for national security reasons. We know that this has happened with the media (editors, reporters) many many times and they have cooperated. Government representatives really give the scientists the full court press in the editing meetings of the IPCC policy recommendations. Some countries simply will not sign off unless they have specfic wording to their liking. Attrition game.
Climate Scientists Erring on the Side of Least Drama
http://www.skepticalscience.com/climate-scientists-esld.html
apneaman on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 12:35 am
IPCC reports ‘diluted’ under ‘political pressure’ to protect fossil fuel interests
Saudi-led coalition sought to make policy summaries as vague as possible to minimise climate action
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2014/may/15/ipcc-un-climate-reports-diluted-protect-fossil-fuel-interests
Perk Earl on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 3:23 am
What if in the middle of the blob is a core blob of the missing Fukushima nuclear fuel?
chaos shaman on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 5:11 am
it is not CO2 that is warming the ocean, it is geological in nature, has nothing to do with it. put simply, we have active volcanoes and venting, this has warmed the waters as well as acidify it. there is no mystery about it.
Davy on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 7:29 am
Jed, you make a great point with “I guess it interesting to contemplate which system will fail first, land agriculture or the ocean’s biosystem.” I watched “Planet Ocean” last week (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2240784/ ). One point that was very clear was the vast majority of fisheries have been exploited, in decline, or on the verge of collapse.
The latest surge in production from farm raised fish is deceptive. The documentary points out it is the sardines and anchovies from the last remaining great fishery sources off Chile that is supporting this fish production. These fish farms are being fed with wild fish. This fishery is under threat from over fishing and a warming Pacific. If this fishery declines or collapses so will the farm raised fish production.
It is likely this sardine and anchovy fishery is near exploitation and we know the Pacific is warming. I would venture to say in just a few years we will see a general collapse of all ocean fisheries and the farm raised fish industry.
It is well known by marine biologist these fisheries just don’t reestablish when fishing pressures are removed. We think we can just do a reintroduction of a species and it will take off like the reintroductions of wolves to Yellowstone. Marine fisheries are different animals.
The whole ocean biosphere is nearing a collapse that will change its characteristics from what we knew in the past. We are talking evolutionary time frames meaning the 3BIL people relying on fish protein and the 300MIL directly relying on fishing for employment will be massively reduced. That is unless we can adapt to eating jelly fish.
It appears land based food production can adapt some to a collapse of industrial AG but we may have destroyed our marine resources. If we have a liquid fuel collapse soon we may see a near miss with a collapse of the ocean biosphere. We will likely not see a return of copious fisheries for exploitation without fossil fuels like earlier times. If the ocean recovers it will be a long term process.
The warming, acidification, and pollution will have to greatly diminish. That will take a generation of reductions to normalize if that is possible. Many believe runaway AGW is here and the new normal. I see this loss of ocean food sources as just another straw on the camel’s back that will end population growth. Couple this loss of marine food source with a financial crisis and liquid fuel crisis. A financial and liquid fuel crisis will destroy industrial AG and its JIT of vast monocultures and their global distribution and you have the end of population growth. You will now have excess deaths over births IOW localized famines and generalized food insecurity.
Rodster on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 7:31 am
“it is not CO2 that is warming the ocean, it is geological in nature, has nothing to do with it. put simply, we have active volcanoes and venting, this has warmed the waters as well as acidify it. there is no mystery about it.”
I’ll be sure to file that under the category of a S.W.A.G.
S.W.A.G. = Scientific Wild Ass Guess
ghung on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 7:49 am
I know. We can run a giant pipeline from the Greenland ice sheet and pump the cold water to the Pacific. This will help keep the Pacific cool and reduce sea level rise in the Atlantic. It could also help save the Gulf Stream from failing. Humans are clever like that 😉
JuanP on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 9:58 am
“And of course fish are being deeply affected as well. Sardines have declined to their lowest level in six decades”
I remember the first time I saw the “Sardines’ Run” here in Miami Beach. I didn’t know anything about it, but it used to happen yearly and it was an amazing show. I was on the beach and suddenly the water started changing from the South, boiling and moving and splashing on a very calm day with no waves or wind. This blob kept coming North and as it came closer I realized it was fish, billions of them, more than I had ever seen before in my life. I was watching my first Sardines’ Run, though I still didn’t know what it was. At its apogee there were sardines all around from the shore in every direction as far as the eye could see, all swimming North like crazy very fast and jumping non stop. All around the sardines there were big predators like sharks and barracudas, attacking from the edges.
I tracked, fished, and watched the Sardines’ runs for years, but we haven’t had one in over five years, and I think they are history now. The ocean here in South Florida is dying very fast.
J-Gav on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 10:17 am
Damn, I always knew “The Blob” would get us! Just didn’t realize where it would come from …
apneaman on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 10:39 am
chaos shaman, to be an effective denier you at least need to know some grade school science basics. CO2 is not a heat source and thus cannot warm the ocean, it acidifies the water, just like what happens when you inject CO2 into a beverage to carbonate it. The Sun’s energy (radiation) warms the oceans. CO2 in the atmosphere traps some of the sun’s radiation and prevents it from deflecting back into space. You people lack creativity. Why not claim the oceans are warming from excessive fish farts brought on by eating plastic?
apneaman on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 10:59 am
California drought: Delta smelt survey finds a single fish, heightening debate over water supply
http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_27918392/california-drought-delta-smelt-survey-tallies-one-fish
PeterEv on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 11:31 am
The Pacific Decadal Oscillator swings from negative to positive. Since 2013, the indicator has gone strongly positive meaning that part of the pacific has warmed instead of cooled. For actual values, see:
http://research.jisao.washington.edu/pdo/PDO.latest
To say this is caused by Global Warming is ludicrous since this phenomena has been going on before our present Global Warming period.
In the data link referenced above, the 1940-41 period saw a high positive index value of 3.31 and in 1983, a high index of 3.5. We have only reached a value of 2.5.
It might be interesting to search Pacific NW newspapers of these two periods for stories of die-offs and look to see if there is a correlation with droughts in California.
Davy on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 12:36 pm
Peter said “To say this is caused by Global Warming is ludicrous since this phenomena has been going on before our present Global Warming period.” Peter, to say that AGW is not playing a part is ludicrous.
penury on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 12:49 pm
“what is that going to mean for the seafood industry and for the price of seafood in our grocery stores?” Nothing like ignoring the minutia of specie extinction and cutting to the important point of the article.
BobInget on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 1:36 pm
Everyone is screwed up, broken, clingy, and scared, even the people who seem to have it more or less together. They are much more like you than you would believe. So try not to compare your insides to their outsides. Also, you can’t save, fix or rescue any of them, or get any of them sober. But radical self-care is quantum, and radiates out into the atmosphere, like a little fresh air. It is a huge gift to the world. When people respond by saying, “Well, isn’t she full of herself,” smile obliquely, like Mona Lisa, and make both of you a nice cup of tea.
Anne Lamott
PrestonSturges on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 3:08 pm
>>>>>”….. The Pacific Decadal Oscillator swings from negative to positive. Since 2013, the indicator has gone strongly positive meaning that part of the pacific has warmed instead of cooled …..”
And in a couple years it is going to reverse and puke that heat at the West Coast.
And of course there is the growing threat of ocean acidification.
Speculawyer on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 3:23 pm
A general theory is that the oceans have been sucking up a massive amount of energy during this alleged (nonexistent) climate change ‘pause’ thus it should come as no surprise that there is a big warm blob in the ocean.
And if that ocean energy gets transferred to the atmosphere, we’ll probably see a spike in the global atmosphere temp thus causing the climate change denier camp to write up a new set of lies as to why climate change is supposedly a big hoax.
Adamc18 on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 3:53 pm
This chart is dated April 2014 – surely it is more relevant to know the date for April (or even March) 2015?
apneaman on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 4:10 pm
A Fearful Glance at the Global Carbon Stores — Weekly CO2 Values Hit 404 Parts Per Million a Little Too Soon
“Over the past decade, annual rates of atmospheric CO2 increase have remained in a range of around 2.2 parts per million (ppm) each year. It’s a geologically blinding pace of increase driven by a human carbon emission on the order of around 11 billion tons each and every year. Primarily driven by fossil fuel burning, this massive dumping of carbon into the atmosphere is steadily filling up a number of the world’s key carbon stores.”
https://robertscribbler.wordpress.com/2015/04/16/a-fearful-glance-at-the-global-carbon-stores-weekly-co2-values-hit-404-parts-per-million-a-little-too-soon/
bigmuddie on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 4:44 pm
We have been warned for decades that factory fishing and rising Co2 may cause the extinction of humanity. Soylent Green and Red cannot be far behind.
PeterEv on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 6:56 pm
Davy,
Show me your proof through a literature search of peer reviewed literature.
The index has not reached the extremes of pre-Gloabal Warming maxima (e.g., 1941 values). In other words, this area of the Pacific has been warmer.
Part of the problem with the Global Warming debate is assuming that the oceans will be heating up as fast as the air.
Before calling me a denier, which is generally the next step, I do believe in it. All I have to do is view the diminishing volume of sea ice in the Arctic. However, there are other influences on the earth’s overall temperature such as solar output which goes through cycles and volcanic eruptions which can create “years without summers”. We are entering a period where the sun’s output diminishes slightly. Volcanic activity has been through a quiet period which will have reversals. This on top of oil peaking, switching to renewables such as wind and solar, more people riding bikes, etc. may actually start a reverse trend.
Has anyone modeled this?
Makati1 on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 7:20 pm
PeterEv, I don’t see anything reversing the path to extinction we are on. Much as that might be hurtful or stressful on your plans, it is better to plan for the worse and hope for the best, in my experience.
My grand kids have a difficult life ahead. They may never have grand kids. Perhaps, 65 million years ago, the dinosaurs had it best. Bang! And it’s all over, no long, painful slide into extinction.
Davy on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 7:53 pm
Peter, say what you like but AGW is somehow part of this process. The global climate is interconnected so in some way this process has effected this phenomena. Notice I did not say it caused it only it is playing a part.
rollin on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 10:35 pm
The recommended way to stop a blob is to freeze it (see documentary starring Steve McQueen).
apneaman on Thu, 16th Apr 2015 10:46 pm
Spring is Here, Siberia Already in Flames
April 16, 2015
http://climatecrocks.com/2015/04/16/spring-is-here-siberia-already-in-flames/
Perk Earl on Fri, 17th Apr 2015 2:48 am
Ap, Apocalyptic firey scene and music there in Siberia.
I’m sure you noticed the huge fires in northern Canada last Summer as well. The Arctic circle is releasing carbon and it’s only going to accelerate from here. April CO2 already hit 404+ and it isn’t even the high CO2 month yet, May. Methane levels are also starting to spike.
People better hope this situation doesn’t go exponential on a short time scale. If so, start digging down for a cool room underground.
Bob Owens on Fri, 17th Apr 2015 8:12 pm
The collapse of the Pacific sea life is clearly a 1st order disaster. I wonder if anyone will care much? The melting of the glaciers and ice in the North and South pole could shut down Ocean circulation by layering cold, fresh water on the top of the ocean. This would explain the dramatic changes in Ocean temps we are seeing. Once the circulation stops it may not start again for thousands of years. Not Cool!