Topic: Marine Heat Wave (Read 2849 times)

Roderick · « **on:** August 08, 2023, 09:34:33 PM »

Remember the "warm blob" from a few years ago? A new massive marine heat wave has now reached the coastal waters of BC.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/marine-heat-wave-off-pacific-coast-could-prove-dangerous-for-wildlife-1.6930686

Check out this map from the NOAA. https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/Products/ocean/sst/anomaly/index.html

Interestingly, the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano at Tonga in January of 2022 has probably caused a massive increase in global temperatures by simply blowing 150 million tonnes of water in to the stratosphere. I have always thought volcanoes cooled the planet because the particulate blocked the sun, but because this one was over 100 meters underwater, the 58 km high plume contained a huge amount of water. And water is a potent greenhouse gas. Apparently the water is also making the ozone hole bigger, which again causes more warming. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/08/fears-over-antarctic-sea-ice-as-yearly-ozone-layer-hole-forms-very-early The good news is that, unlike CO2, the extra water should drop out of the atmosphere in 10 years or so.