Although scientists based in Seattle predicted a miserably hot and mortally dry summer, in partial contra mass viewers’ ogling of the new Wet Hot American Summer, the reality of this year’s hottest days in places like Puget Sound, Hood Canal, et al, are exceeding said scientists’ expectations; we’ve had record-breaking heat-waves, a weasley snowpack, and an unrelenting drought. All these malheurs are now evidenced in the Puget Sound.
“I wasn’t expecting the conditions to be this extreme,” exhaled University of Washington climate scientist Nick Bond. “I thought it would be dry and warm, but I wasn’t expecting this.”
FEDERAL GOV’T CONCERNED FOR PUGET SOUND
Indeed, scientists from county, state, and even federal agencies announced their concern on Thursday about the ecological consequences of these developments in the Puget Sound, which are now expected to carry on in the foreground as El Niño awakes in the ecological background. The scientists referred to are trying to comprehend the ultimate impact of massive volumes of warming water after the already concerning closures of shellfish, an increase in the population of toxic algae and reports of greater numbers of dead fish.
LOCAL ECOLOGY TAKES SUCCESSIVE BEATING
The Northwest region seems to have taken a “one-two” beating in the form of that weasley snowpack followed by the drought, surmised Bond. A gigantic volume of unusually warm water resting just off of the West Coast, nicknamed “The Blob,” may be at fault. Surpassing nominal temperatures of this time of year by 7 degrees, from Alaska to Mexico, since way back in 2003, “[t]he blob is [certainly] rearing its ugly head,” Bond punned.
Buoys bobbing in the South Puget Sound, Hood Canal and the main basin have shown temperatures warmer in both deep and surface waters, some of which are a staggering 4 degrees above normal, says Jan Newton, UW oceanographer. The oxygen content of the Hood Canal is low and may keep declining through September, until upwelling ceases and the Blob returns to the Sound. Both temps and low O2 levels will be a challenge for local organisms.
“In very severe conditions, we’re concerned about fish kills,” said Newton. “We’re going to be continuing to monitor this.”
IT (ALWAYS) GETS WORSE
If that’s not enough, the marine life present has also taken a heavy slug to the face. A shellfish harvest was shut down early this past April, just two months before the normal time for biotoxin closure, mentioned Jerry Borchert of the Washington State Department of Health’s shellfish-safety program. Several parts of Hood Canal (a first!) were forced to shut down in light of greater toxin concentrations, believed to be caused by the rising water temperatures, said Borchert.
Salmon are among the many types of fish to have experienced a minor holocaust, and this has raised concerns regarding the long-term consequences on the food chain, warned National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries scientist Correigh Greene.
Some of us humans just may love this warm weather, but the NOAA oceanographer, named Simone Alin, related a story in which she went for a little swim in the Hood Canal this summer, and, in a first for her, Did Not Feel Numb when she left the water behind.
Marine life and nature is meant to be preserved. Capture the beauty of places like the Puget Sound with the Atmoph:
The Blob of Puget Sound Is Killing Marine Life
No comments:
Post a Comment