Rapid, high ocean temperature spikes occurring at double the expected rate

Rapid, high ocean temperature spikes occurring at double the expected rate affecting marine ecosystems and humans
The researchers, who identified these extreme ocean temperature "surprises" all over the world, say it affects diversity and productivity of marine ecosystems.
MEAWW
By Mihika Basu
Published on : 11:44 PST, Aug 11, 2019

The research team led by Dr. Andrew Pershing, Chief Scientific Officer at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute...examined 65 large marine ecosystems from 1854-2018. The world’s oceans are divided into large marine ecosystems. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), such ecosystems “covering large swaths of the world’s coast” have some of its richest marine biodiversity and provide goods and services to billions of people worth over $12 trillion each year.

The researchers found that the number of "surprising" warming events across the large marine ecosystems increased with global warming, especially after 1998. While the researchers expected that about six or seven of 65 ecosystems examined would experience these “surprises" each year,” they instead found an average of 12 ecosystems experiencing these warming events each year, over the past seven years. This includes a high of 23 "surprises" in 2016, says the team. In his previous research, Dr. Pershing had identified the Gulf of Maine as one of the most rapidly warming ecosystems in the global ocean.

The team predicts that surprising temperatures are likely to reduce the diversity and productivity of marine ecosystems. ... in ecosystems that are experiencing change much faster, these natural communities are expected to suffer reductions in both biomass and diversity. “Our model of natural communities suggests that this will result in a decline in the abundance of species occupying a similar trophic niche; however, the decline will be less strongly felt by fast-reproducing species. This creates the potential for decoupling between different components of the food web. According to the researchers, humans are also significantly impacted by an increase in the number of unusually high ocean temperatures.

More here
https://meaww.com/rapid-unusually-high-ocean-temperature-common-double-rate-scientists