Global warming remains a major concern for scientists, and for those who understand the serious impact it has on planet Earth. Now, scientists have warned about the North Pacific blob, as it has returned, and the oceanic heat wave could have consequences worldwide. Basically, scientists claim that a massive 8,000-kilometer heat blob is stretching across the North Pacific Ocean.
What we’re talking about isn’t just an interesting phenomenon, one that could have negative consequences for the Earth. It’s a huge mass of very warm water (much warmer than normal) that stretches 8,000 kilometers from the west coast of the United States to Japan. It’s worth noting that the first time this phenomenon was observed, the blob disrupted the food chain and weather patterns thousands of miles away.
From what we understand so far, this is because, like a heat dome over land, a high-pressure system has remained over the North Pacific. This limits wind intensity, which reduces the water agitation that would normally cause upwelling in the depths of the ocean basin. Without these cooler waters rising and mixing with surface waters, temperatures continue to rise because no real movement would be detected. According to experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the heat “blob” could have serious consequences for the climate on land, particularly in terms of extreme weather events and the well-being of marine life in the Pacific.
The issue of temperature is the biggest problem we face, as from this perspective, it’s another negative record, as the difference in sea surface temperature compared to the average is the highest ever recorded since the late 19th century. It may seem contradictory, but polluting motor fuels produce sulfur dioxide, which used to be released into the atmosphere when crossing the North Pacific. Therefore, pollution from large cities has a significant impact on the behavior of the waters.
Some of the consequences seen in the past include abnormally warm waters that favored the proliferation of harmful algae that affected the crab population, making them poisonous for human consumption and suspending the fishing season for months. But that’s not all; such events have also caused seabird die-offs along the Alaskan coast and affected several species of fish, sea lions, and other creatures that live in this region.
That is to say, the consequences, both environmental and ecosystem-wise, can be devastating. What happens with these types of phenomena is that the colder, nutrient-rich waters of the ocean depths cannot rise to the surface, which has triggered a chain reaction in the food web in the past. For example, plankton died without nutrients, reducing food for fish. This forced them to migrate to the coast, and their predators followed. Therefore, the best thing we can do as citizens is to continue caring about the environment and doing what we can to improve the health of the planet. Many studies have concluded that the increase in marine heat waves and the accelerated warming of the North Pacific are likely due to the increase in the average global temperature. This is not surprising.
