by NCAR & UCAR

https://phys.org/news/2023-03-scientists-bottom-ocean.html?fbclid=IwAR0tgvN60WTOTP_f2vzv8bBlsZta_dBI_lCWMalm2Tf0cWPJUTZEvsZupt8

The 2013-2016 marine heat wave known as “The Blob” warmed a vast expanse of surface waters across the northeastern Pacific, disrupting West Coast marine ecosystems, depressing salmon returns, and damaging commercial fisheries. It also prompted a wave of research on extreme warming of ocean surface waters.

https://40115bf1a15e35538e687c4d7ed2effb.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

But, as new NOAA research shows, marine heat waves also happen deep underwater.

In a paper published in the journalNature Communications, a team led by NOAA researchers used a combination of observations and computer models to generate the first broad assessment of bottom marine heat waves in the productive continental shelf waters surrounding North America.

“Researchers have been investigating marine heat waves at the sea surface for over a decade…