As Climate Destabilizes, Annual Cold-Water Upwelling Along CA Coast May Stutter, Breaking Food Chain

[hatrack]

Delayed onset of the Pacific Ocean's annual spring upwelling off California's coast can warp the ocean's food chain and wreak havoc with the region's historically rich ecosystem. And delays are more likely as the climate warms, scientists say.

Two years ago, the winds that churn the Pacific and bring cold, nutrient-rich deep water to the surface didn't materialize until June — a month late. That delay, analyzed by Oregon State University researchers in work published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, gives scientists a glimpse of conditions to come if global climate change models prove accurate. "The winds eventually picked up," said Jack Barth,a professor in OSU's College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences and the study's lead author. "But for some species that depend on those nutrients being there, it was too late."

California's coastal waters are one of the four most productive ocean zones on Earth. All four of those regions depend on upwelling to bring deep-water nutrients to the surface. But climate models predict the Pacific's consistent seasonal upwelling may develop more variation. Sea temperature rise is one concern, but the biggest worry, as suggested by Barth's research, is predicted shifts in wind patterns.

Instead of patterns shifting every two to five days — the norm for eons — climate models say patterns may last a month or more. That can lead to long periods with no wind. But

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