Sea life's importance to the climate
Does the marine biosphere mix the ocean? A group of oceanographers led by W.K. Dewar of Florida State University argue that the swimming action of fish and other marine organisms may play a critical role in driving ocean currents. If true, large-scale over-fishing or the collapse of the marine food chain due to pollution or ocean acidification may cause significant changes in ocean currents--and Earth's climate.
Figure 1. Rainbow made From a sperm whale using his blowhole. Image taken June 17, 2006 in Kaikora, New Zealand by wunderphotographer jhfelder.
The Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) or Thermohaline Circulation is a well-known feature of the ocean circulation. In the Atlantic, the Gulf Stream current forms a portion of the MOC. Gulf Stream waters flow to the region near Greenland, where an input of fresh, denser water from melting ice and river run-off creates a downward flow of water that then moves southward along the ocean bottom towards the Equator. This deep water eventually returns to the surface in the mid-Atlantic to complete a cell of the MOC. Scientists have long thought that the energy needed to drive the MOC came from winds and tides--about two terrawatts of energy (Munk and Wunsch, 1998). However, Dewar et al. show that the mechanical energy added to the ocean by the swimming action of whales is about 1% of this total, and the swimming action of other marine organisms (primarily zooplankton) adds up to 50% of this total--one terrawatt of energy. While the authors admit that their calculations may have large errors, this research shows that marine life may have a heretofore unappreciated large impact on Earth's climate. Our climate is intimately connected to the sun, life on land, life in the ocean, and human activities in an incredibly complex web of interconnections. It is our challenge to understand this system, even as we change it and it changes of its own accord.
My next blog will be Thursday afternoon, when the new Dr. Bill Gray/Phil Klotzbach Atlantic hurricane season forecast will be released.
Jeff Masters
Dewar, W.K., R.J. Bingham, R.L. Iverson, D.P. Nowacek, L.C. St. Laurent, and P.H. Wiebe, 2006, "Does the marine biosphere mix the ocean?", Journal of Marine Research, 64, 541-561.
Munk, W., and C. Wunsch, 1998, "Abyssal recipes II: Energetics of tidal and wind mixing", Deep-Sea Res., 45, 1976-2009.
Reader Comments
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pray no one gets hurt
thanx raa....errr..i mean flboy.....but i'm not a scientist..just the king of cut and paste....
Link
Has anyone looked @ the gfs in 180 hr?? Being in S MS I'd like to know what the heck it means?
Link
It had the tropical/non-tropical low heading toward the Florida panhandle. It's back to moving it across southern Florida on the 06UTC run.
Good morning...whats up with the thunderstorms in the Yucatan cannel?
Looks like their moving east.
Guys like ricderr only know how to ask stupid questions on here. Because they know absolutely nothing about tropical weather.
Ouch
rough start today in OK
TS into Tampa Bay.
Maybe I misunderstood...but I thought this blog is here for many to *LEARN* about tropical weather...that is the point of "discussion"...the exchange of ideas and knowledge. That implies not being afraid to ask questions of any time (blog topic related that is).
[Printable]
Links in the discussion text will open a (small) new browser window with more information inside.
A more complete Weather Glossary is Available Here
000
FXUS62 KTBW 300713
AFDTBW
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL
313 AM EDT WED MAY 30 2007
.SHORT TERM (TODAY-FRI)...SFC HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO RIDGE
ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THU AND THEN SHIFT EAST FOR FRI AS LOW
PRESSURE BEGINS TO DEVELOP OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO. ALOFT RIDGING
WILL CONTINUE OVER THE EASTERN US AS AN UPPER TROUGH REMAINS OVER
THE NORTHERN GULF REGION. FLOW WILL REMAIN EASTERLY THROUGH
THURSDAY UNDER HIGH PRESSURE AND THEN BECOME MORE SE AS THE LOW
DEVELOPS. DEEP MOISTURE WILL BEGIN TO ADVECT OVER THE AREA FOR FRI
ALLOWING FOR SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS. TEMPS WILL CONTINUE A FEW
DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THU AND THEN FALL TO NEAR NORMAL FRI
WITH INCREASED CLOUD COVER AND CONVECTION.
.LONG TERM (FRI NIGHT-TUE)...MODELS COMING INTO AGREEMENT WITH A
STORM SYSTEM FORMING OVER THE CENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO...HOWEVER THERE
IS STILL A GREAT DEAL OF UNCERTAINTY WITH THE EVENTUAL EVOLUTION AND
STRENGTH OF THIS SYSTEM. REGARDLESS...WITH SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE
SLIDING EAST OF THE AREA AND INCREASING SOUTHEAST FLOW OVER WEST
CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA...DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE WILL BE
PULLED NORTH ACROSS THE REGION FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. THIS WILL
BE A DRAMATIC CHANGE TO THE DRY AIR THAT HAS PERSISTED FOR MUCH OF
THE LATTER PART OF MAY...AND SUMMERLIKE HUMIDITY WILL BE FELT AS
WINDS SHIFT SOUTHWEST OFF THE GULF OF MEXICO LATE SATURDAY.
INCREASING CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY NIGHT...AND
NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY SATURDAY AS DEEP TROPICAL
MOISTURE WILL HAVE ADVECTED OVER THE FLORIDA PENINSULA. POSSIBILITY
FOR SIGNIFICANT RAIN EVENT SINCE WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
WOULD BE ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE STORM SYSTEM. BUT AGAIN...MUCH
UNCERTAINTY REMAINS...WOULD EXPECT SYSTEM TO BE EXITING THE AREA
SUNDAY WITH WEST TO SOUTHWEST FLOW CONTINUING TO ADVECT WARM MUGGY
AIR OFF THE GULF OF MEXICO. SURFACE RIDGE WILL BUILD ACROSS THE
FLORIDA STRAITS BY TUESDAY WHICH WILL ALLOW WESTERLY FLOW TO PERSIST
INTO NEXT WEEK...WITH VERY WARM STICKY AIRMASS PERSISTING THROUGH
WEDNESDAY...AND ISOLATED AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY.
&&
.AVIATION...NO SIGNIFICANT HAZARDS THROUGH WEDNESDAY...HOWEVER SMOKE
FROM A FIRE JUST NORTHWEST OF LAKE OKEECHOBEE MAY LOCALLY RESTRICT
VISIBILITY TO 3 TO 5 NM FROM ABOUT FORT MYERS TO VENICE.
&&
.MARINE...GENERALLY EAST WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY UNDER
HIGH PRESSURE AND THEN BECOME MORE S/SE THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS LOW
PRESSURE DEVELOPS IN THE GULF. SCEC WILL CONTINUE THROUGH 10AM
WITH WINDS THEN SUBSIDING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON TO 10 TO 15 KNOTS.
WILL AGAIN HAVE AN EVENING SURGE TO NEAR SCEC VALUES TONIGHT.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...RHS AGAIN EXPECTED TO FALL BELOW 35 PERCENT ACROSS
THE NORTH FOR 1 TO 3 HOURS THIS AFTERNOON. MOISTURE THEN EXPECTED
TO INCREASE THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEK. WILL CONTINUE TO
HEADLINE LOW RHS ACROSS THE NORTH IN THE FWF BUT NO WARNINGS
REQUIRED ATTM.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
TPA 90 69 90 71 / 10 10 10 10
FMY 90 68 90 69 / 20 10 20 20
GIF 90 67 90 70 / 10 10 10 10
SRQ 90 67 90 68 / 10 10 10 10
BKV 90 62 90 64 / 10 10 10 10
SPG 88 73 89 74 / 10 10 10 10
&&
.TBW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FL...NONE.
GULF WATERS...SMALL CRAFT EXERCISE CAUTION UNTIL 10 AM EDT THIS MORNING FOR
BONITA BEACH TO ENGLEWOOD OUT 20 TO 60 NM-ENGLEWOOD TO
TARPON SPRINGS OUT 20 TO 60 NM-TARPON SPRINGS TO SUWANNEE
RIVER OUT 20 TO 60 NM.
&&
$$
SHORT TERM/MARINE...24
LONG TERM/AVIATION...13
Viewing: 451 - 501
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