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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They show mid level dry air,which is related to dust.The bottom map is the past month,the top is the same time last year.Notice how much moister it's been in the East Atlantic and Carribean.
This just started happening.
Sorry guys.
Someone with a subscription/access to this article want to review it in detail and explain it? I thought it was a joke, picturing all the whales swimming around the Atlantic CCW, until I did the google search.
As someone who has over 200 dives in the carribean in the middle of fish schools, swarms, etc., I can only assume that the mixing is a local phenomena with effects on microscopic life , perhaps chemistry and maybe sediment/coral/water boundaries. If anyone feels like reading and explaining, I would be interested.
Thanks
PS 'cause if they are talking about whales, etc, I'm getting me some of that grant money and change my name to Dr. GreenTortuloni.
Maybe Thursday....
I am not going to blast Dr. Masters for the blog posting, but ya know we are kind of waiting for an actual "tropics related" posting. I figured by now he would have at least discussed the possibility of the Low in the Carribean busting some of the drought in FL.
Maybe Thursday....
Which is basically what I typed previously...it IS tropical season..and this IS a tropical weather blog.
;)
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.
we have the collapse of the marine food chain...and we won't give a rat's butt about earth's climate
very cold cloud tops starting to show up now
maybe just daytime thunderstorms. ITs very compact
ok - so what's the spinny thing that your link went to kman?
The intersecting lines in the image are the 15N 80W lat. and long. lines
The convection is the 1008 mb low in the SW Caribbean which is now just east of the Nicaragua/Honduras border which appears on the left side of the image
"we have the collapse of the marine food chain...and we won't give a rat's butt about earth's climate"
bark beetles..affecting one specie...some thousands of acres...??
Try millions of acres... of course, the bark beetles are only so prolific because of human mismanagement of the forests... but you know...
I am not going to blast Dr. Masters for the blog posting, but ya know we are kind of waiting for an actual "tropics related" posting. I figured by now he would have at least discussed the possibility of the Low in the Carribean busting some of the drought in FL.
why does it matter if he mentions it or not?
you have eyes,ears and research capability
Thanks for the blog Dr.Masters looking forward to your blog on thursday on the update from colorado state.I dont expect much changes in there numbers.Adrian
Geez, I make one comment about being a little surprised that there wasn't any mention about the tropics and everyone gets bent out of shape.
Get over it.
Are people reading what I said? K8e- Yes, I have research capability, thank you for pointing out the obvious.
Geez, I make one comment about being a little surprised that there wasn't any mention about the tropics and everyone gets bent out of shape.
Get over it.
lol. Jeff's next blog will be on the tropics. Besides there is nothing to really watch.
Posted By: nash28 at 4:31 PM GMT on May 29, 2007.
I am not going to blast Dr. Masters for the blog posting, but ya know we are kind of waiting for an actual "tropics related" posting. I figured by now he would have at least discussed the possibility of the Low in the Carribean busting some of the drought in FL.
why does it matter if he mentions it or not?
you have eyes,ears and research capability
Because he's a tropical weather expert and his input is appreciated.
Sorry to butt in for Nash.
polite correction: The Pine Bark beetles are destroying millions of acres of Rockies Pine not because of forestry mismanagement, but because the winters are no longer cold enough in those regions to kill off the majority of the eggs as it used to. This is one of the more easily visible impacts of climate change (a more accurate term than GW as it encompasses localized instability). as the winters get milder, the beetle is also migrating northward, and westward..it is expected to cover most of NA within ten years. Very hard to "manage" infestations of such insane magnitudes without significant enviromental toxicity and cost.
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/east/carb/loop-avn.html
Where can I find a Close up IR loop of the Carrib Blob?
go to the tropics page of the site. Look to the bottom where it says Carribean/W. Atlantic IR loop. Its below the satellite image.
TTFN
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