PMEL in the News
Climate change could further delay crab season
When the state delayed our local Dungeness crab season last November, San Franciscans were upset. I heard people blame climate change for the toxic algae bloom that poisoned our crabs, but this explanation may be too simple. What really caused the unusual bloom of Pseudo-nitzschia phytoplankton and will our Thanksgiving plates be without crab again?
Scientists: 2016 likely to be hottest year on record despite looming La Niña
The phenomenon known as El Niño, which combined with human-caused warming to supercharge global temperature in 2015/16 and brought chaotic weather worldwide, is officially on its way out. But stepping quickly into El Niño’s shoes is its cooler counterpart, La Niña.
Summer 2014 winds gave the 2015-16 El Niño a head start
Following a large westerly wind burst in February 2014, buzz developed that a strong El Niño event would occur in the following winter. However, during June and July of 2014, anomalous easterly winds along the equator occurred, forestalling the developing El Niño.
Multiyear crab disaster brewing
State officials fear the historic 2015-2016 Dungeness crab collapse may go on for at least another year and probably longer.
Leftover warm water in Pacific Ocean fueled massive El Niño
A new study provides insight into how the current El Niño, one of the strongest on record, formed in the Pacific Ocean. The new research finds easterly winds in the tropical Pacific Ocean stalled a potential El Niño in 2014 and left a swath of warm water in the central Pacific. The presence of that warm water stacked the deck for a monster El Niño to occur in 2015, according to the study’s authors.