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US West Coast Erosion Spiked In Winter 2009-10, Previewing Likely Future As Climate Changes

By Guest PostJuly 13, 2011Environmentamerican geophysical union, california, climate change scenarios, climatic pattern, el niño, el nino modoki, equatorial pacific, global warming, ocean beach, oregon state university, pacific coast, pacific northwest, patrick barnard, san diego, san francisco, scripps institution of oceanography, us west coast, willapa bay

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Knowing that the U.S. west coast was battered during the winter before last by a climatic pattern expected more often in the future, scientists have now pieced together a San Diego-to-Seattle assessment of the damage wrought by that winter’s extreme waves and higher-than-usual water levels. Getting a better understanding of how the 2009-10 conditions tore away and reshaped shorelines will help coastal experts better predict future changes that may be in store for the Pacific coast, the researchers say.

“The stormy conditions of the 2009-10 El Niño winter eroded the beaches to often unprecedented levels at sites throughout California and vulnerable sites in the Pacific Northwest,” said Patrick Barnard, USGS coastal geologist. In California, for example, winter wave energy was 20 percent above average for the years dating back to 1997, resulting in shoreline erosion that exceeded the average by 36 percent, he and his colleagues found. (more…)

After a Three-Decade Hiatus, Sea-Level Rise May Return to the West Coast

By Guest PostMay 4, 2011Environmentart miller, beach erosion, coastal sea level rise, eastern north pacific ocean, el niño, extreme wave conditions, global sea level, global warming, guillermo auad, high tides, pacific decadal oscillation, pacific ocean climate cycle, pdo, peter bromirski, reinhard flick, rising sea level, scripps institution of oceanography, sea level, storm surges, west coast, west coast of north america, wetlands inundation

WASHINGTON — The West Coast of North America has caught a break that has left sea level in the eastern North Pacific Ocean steady during the last few decades, but there is evidence that a change in wind patterns may be occurring that could cause coastal sea-level rise to accelerate beginning this decade.

That is the conclusion of a new study that says that conditions dominated by cold surface waters along the West Coast could soon flip to an opposite state.

“There are indications that this is what might be happening right now,” says Peter Bromirski, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, and lead author of a study now in press in the Journal of Geophysical Research–Oceans, a journal of the American Geophysical Union. (more…)

Eddies Found to be Deep, Powerful Modes of Ocean Transport

By ShamsMay 1, 2011Environment, Scienceadams, computer models, deep sea phenomenon, deep-sea moorings, dennis j mcgillicuddy, diane k adams, east pacific rise, east scotia ridge, el niño, eruption, hydrothermal vents, indian ridge, jets, lauren s mullineaux, mid atlantic ridge, ocean, ocean bottom, ocean eddies, sea creatures, surface ocean dynamics, underwater mountain range, whoi, woods hole oceanographic institution

*Study Finds Connection between Atmospheric Events and the Deep Ocean*

Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and their colleagues have discovered that massive, swirling ocean eddies–known to be up to 500 kilometers across at the surface–can reach all the way to the ocean bottom at mid-ocean ridges, some 2,500 meters deep, transporting tiny sea creatures, chemicals, and heat from hydrothermal vents over large distances.

The previously unknown deep-sea phenomenon, reported in the April 28 issue of the journal Science, helps explain how some larvae travel huge distances from one vent area to another, said Diane K. Adams, lead author at WHOI and now at the National Institutes of Health. (more…)

Study Portends Greater Anticipated Global Warming

By Guest PostNovember 25, 2010Environmentaxel lauer, carbon dioxide, clouds, el niño, global climate models, global mean cloud, global warming, greenhouse gases, kevin hamilton, reflection, solar radiation, warmer climate, warming

Current state-of-the-art global climate models predict substantial warming in response to increases in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. The models, though, disagree widely in the magnitude of the warming we can expect. The disagreement among models is mainly due to the different representation of clouds. Some models predict that global mean cloud cover will increase in a warmer climate and the increased reflection of solar radiation will limit the predicted global warming. Other models predict reduced cloudiness and magnified warming. (more…)

Corals Show Ocean Temperature Boundary Rising with Climate Change

By Guest PostOctober 14, 20101 commentEnvironment, Natureandrea grottoli, branwen williams, climate modelers, computer models, coral reef, corals, el niño, global climate, global warming, gorgonian, isotopes, nitrogen 14, nitrogen 15, ocean circulation, oceanography, offshore, ohio state university, pacific decadal oscillation, palau, pdo, satellite data, thermocline, western tropical pacific

WASHINGTON — Researchers looking at corals in the western tropical Pacific Ocean have found signs of a profound shift in the depth where warm surface water and colder deeper water meet—a shift predicted by computer models of global warming.

The finding is the first physical evidence supporting what climate modelers have been predicting as the effects of global climate change on the subsurface ocean circulation. (more…)

Global Warming Could Spell Disaster for Corn Crops

By Guest PostSeptember 6, 20101 commentEconomy, Environmentbhawan singh, christopher bryant, corn, crop, el niño, fertilizing impact of CO2, global warming, greenhouse gases, kenel delusca, professor, quebec, rainfall increase, southern united states, temperature increase, université de montréal

If corn producers continue using the same cultivars, plants selected for their desirable characteristics, global warming could cause production to drop from 1.3 to 10 percent between 2010 and 2039.

(more…)

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