"Just Totally Healthy Ocean Out There Right Now"

Upwelling (illustration from Visualizing Science)

Global warming Climate change is responsible for heating the oceans, but scientists are now saying that it's the reason for ocean chilling.

The Pacific Ocean near San Francisco has been the coldest it’s been in more than a decade.

a weather buoy at Bodega Bay recorded water temperatures as low as 47.8 degrees on June 21, the coldest it’s been that day for over a decade. That compares with a mean over the decade of around 51 degrees for June, typically the coolest month for that buoy, and other buoys in the area have shown similar trends. It’s been so cold that some fish appear to have been staying in the warmer waters of the bay...

Such cold spells this time of year are a unique feature of the Central California coast. They are triggered by high winds that stir up cold water from the deep in a process known as upwelling...

Upwelling delivers essential nutrients particularly to what are called forage fish, like sardines and anchovies, said [Monterey Bay Aquarium researcher Henry] Ruhl. Over time, salmon get pinker and richer-tasting from their abundant diet, and whales come close to shore to feast on anchovies and krill. With more to eat, seabird populations can boom, and kelp forests, the vital habitat for marine life that have recently been decimated by climate change, grow stronger.

Fish, plants, marine mammals, and birds are all prospering:

Upwelling delivers essential nutrients particularly to what are called forage fish, like sardines and anchovies, said Ruhl. Over time, salmon get pinker and richer-tasting from their abundant diet, and whales come close to shore to feast on anchovies and krill. With more to eat, seabird populations can boom, and kelp forests, the vital habitat for marine life that have recently been decimated by climate change, grow stronger.

Anchovies are so plentiful that seabirds can't eat any more and are dropping them during flight. Fish are "raining from the sky."

Local fishers and researchers are blaming seabirds that, because of an explosion in the anchovy population off the coast of the Bay Area, now have more fish than they know what to do with...

According to [Fishing Association President Larry] Collins, the water this year is the coldest local fishermen have seen in a long time, and the anchovies are a testament to that.

“It's just totally healthy ocean out there right now. I heard guys telling me about pelicans that, instead of diving to fill their mouths up, they’re just skimming the water and getting full mouths of anchovies,” Collins said.

"La Niña should last through the end of the year," which means cool oceans and wet weather in the near future.

With any luck we will get real rain, not just fish, falling upon our heads this winter.