The story was first published in Hakai Magazine.
Climate change is causing the ocean to heat up. There is a patch of water off the west coast of thepagos Islands. The patch of land is prosperous and has a positive impact on the archipelago.
The cool water sustains populations of penguins, marine iguanas, sea lions, fur seals, and cetaceans that would not be able to stay on the equator during the year.
The cold patch has cooled by half a degree over the past 40 years. Scientists don't know how long it will last. The islands are known for their diversity. It is possible that the water offshore will become a refuge for marine animals. It looks like the answer is yes. For a while.
There are cold pools around the world. The weakness of a global current that carries heat north is the cause of one in the North Atlantic. The shape of the seafloor and the rotation of the planet are not likely to change because of rising greenhouse gases according to a new study. The effect is seen on other islands as well.
Several islands along the equator have cold water to their west. The cooling is the result of the collision of a deep ocean current against the islands.
Analyzing 22 years worth of ocean temperature data collected by Argo floats, along with observations from satellites, ocean gliders, and cruises, the scientists constructed temperature profiles around several equatorial islands and pinpointed the location of the EUC. Coriolis force, an inertia brought on by the Earth's spin on its axis, holds the EUC in place. Hurricanes are anticlockwise north of the equator and anticlockwise south of it.
When the EUC gets within 100 kilometers of the Galapagos Islands, it suddenly increases in intensity. The water is up to 1.5 degrees cooler than the water outside. The researchers found a weak effect west of the Gilbert Islands.
The EUC has gotten stronger and deeper over the past few decades according to a study by Karnauskas. The path is more in line with the Galapagos Islands. The observed cooling is caused by all of those changes.
Jon Witman is a marine ecologist at Brown University who was not involved in the studies. He says the EUC's cool upwelled water has positive impacts. Cold shocking corals can cause them to bleach and sometimes die, as a result of the cooling caused by the La Nia phenomenon.
The shield of cold is likely to benefit life around the Galapagos Islands. The cooling water is fighting a losing battle. He believes that the cooling trend won't last through the century.
The Galapagos could become a genetic bank if some species are protected for a period of time. It's beautiful that it's the icon of the Galapagos.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
