Summary and Analysis of the Warming Pacific Ocean
Editor's Note: Natasha Brecht ('18) explores global warming and the warming of the Pacific Ocean in response to a New York Times article.
As we enter 2016 with new hopes and ambitions in the scientific community, it is also a time to reflect on what new discoveries and setbacks were uncovered in 2015. One of the standout issues according to John Schwartz, a New York Times reporter, was the temperature rise in the world’s largest body of water; the Pacific Ocean earned 2015 the label of hottest year on record. The Pacific’s warming is affecting different groups of people from ordinary people to aquatic life yet there is no one main source of warming. There are many possibilities starting with global warming, caused by greenhouse gases generated by humans, to the El Niño system, which over time has become a strong powerhouse along the equator. Problems don’t stop there we continue with something known as “the Blob” which is a section of water along the North American coast, then a cycle called Pacific Decadal Oscillation which moves from a cooling to warming phase is now transitioning into its warming phase. While the main focus is how these factors affect the water what some people aren’t considering is how it will affect their lives in the fast approaching future. Unnatural toxins will start evolving in sea life causing some species to become extinct while the toxic species will only grow, which humans consume. The sea level will only continue to rise resulting in the destruction of land barriers, meant to protect us, but storms will only get bigger and more deadly. An important note from a research meteorologist named Nicholas A. Bond is that “‘hey, this is the consequence of messing around with the climate.’”
The phenomenon about the Pacific warming is one of the most interesting reports of the past year because it is an issue that is rapidly becoming more and more relevant to human’s everyday lives. The fascinating part is not only the facts of the matter but how few people are aware how long we have been contributing to climate change because of greenhouse gases and been unaware about it. Now that the human race is starting to see a significant change in temperature we have started following this issue and becoming more aware of how deadly it could become. The ocean is a very powerful place and does have the capability of taking out an entire coastline, referred to as coral bleaching, which is well on its way to doing in the future if we don’t do something about it.
The science behind the contributors of the temperature change in the Pacific in terms of “the Blob”, greenhouse gases, coral bleaching, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and El Niño, is fascinating because if we continue to ignore the issues we will start to see our world transform into a very different place. As more light is shed on the matter and more discoveries are made about these four problems we start to realize that this is a very current and relevant matter. Something that has been masking how bad this issue has gotten is the Pacific Decadal Oscillation because since 2000 it has been running on its cool phase, which allowed the ocean to absorb the heat created by greenhouse gases. Scientists now believe that we have entered the warming phase, which means the ocean will only get warmer faster due to our contributions from Greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases after all are caused by human activity and result in the warming of the planet which can be reduced if we reduce our carbon footprint, but we’ve yet to do that. This is the starting point for the human race, that’s how we can make a change, because if we don’t places that are destinations along the coast will start to fall right off the map.
Schwartz, J. (2015, November 02). The Pacific Ocean Becomes a Caldron. Retrieved January 8, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/science/global-warming-pacific-ocean-el-nino-blob.html?_r=0
We need your help! (2015, October 8). Retrieved January 9, 2016, from http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2015/100815-noaa-declares-third-ever-global-coral-bleaching-event.htm
The phenomenon about the Pacific warming is one of the most interesting reports of the past year because it is an issue that is rapidly becoming more and more relevant to human’s everyday lives. The fascinating part is not only the facts of the matter but how few people are aware how long we have been contributing to climate change because of greenhouse gases and been unaware about it. Now that the human race is starting to see a significant change in temperature we have started following this issue and becoming more aware of how deadly it could become. The ocean is a very powerful place and does have the capability of taking out an entire coastline, referred to as coral bleaching, which is well on its way to doing in the future if we don’t do something about it.
The science behind the contributors of the temperature change in the Pacific in terms of “the Blob”, greenhouse gases, coral bleaching, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and El Niño, is fascinating because if we continue to ignore the issues we will start to see our world transform into a very different place. As more light is shed on the matter and more discoveries are made about these four problems we start to realize that this is a very current and relevant matter. Something that has been masking how bad this issue has gotten is the Pacific Decadal Oscillation because since 2000 it has been running on its cool phase, which allowed the ocean to absorb the heat created by greenhouse gases. Scientists now believe that we have entered the warming phase, which means the ocean will only get warmer faster due to our contributions from Greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases after all are caused by human activity and result in the warming of the planet which can be reduced if we reduce our carbon footprint, but we’ve yet to do that. This is the starting point for the human race, that’s how we can make a change, because if we don’t places that are destinations along the coast will start to fall right off the map.
Schwartz, J. (2015, November 02). The Pacific Ocean Becomes a Caldron. Retrieved January 8, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/science/global-warming-pacific-ocean-el-nino-blob.html?_r=0
We need your help! (2015, October 8). Retrieved January 9, 2016, from http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2015/100815-noaa-declares-third-ever-global-coral-bleaching-event.htm
