Decades After a 2003 Marine Heat Wave, North Atlantic Ecosystems Still Feeling the Impact
A marine heat wave that struck the waters around Greenland in 2003 continues to have lasting effects on North Atlantic ocean ecosystems, with a significant increase in marine heat wave frequency persisting to this day.
A team of marine biologists from Germany and Norway conducted a comprehensive review of over 100 scientific studies, revealing that the marine heat waves in and after 2003 triggered “widespread and abrupt ecological changes” across all levels of the ocean’s ecosystems – from microscopic protists to commercially important fish species and whales.
According to marine ecologist Karl Michael Werner from the Thünen Institute of Sea Fisheries in Germany and his colleagues, the events of 2003 marked the beginning of a prolonged heating phase in numerous North Atlantic locations, unprecedented in its scale and impact.
The 2003 marine heat wave was fueled by a weak subpolar gyre, allowing warm subtropical waters to enter the Norwegian Sea through the Atlantic Inflow. Simultaneously, the usual flow of Arctic waters that cool the Norwegian Sea was disrupted, leading to a significant decrease in sea ice and substantial increases in sea surface temperatures, penetrating depths of up to 700 meters.
The shift towards warmer waters resulted in a reorganization of marine species, with cold-water creatures losing ground to those adapted to warmer conditions. Baleen whale species and orcas, absent for decades, have made a comeback in the region since 2015.
However, the changes have not been favorable for all species. The disappearance of sandeel, a crucial prey for larger fish like haddock, coincided with ecological shifts and declining capelin populations in the North Atlantic. Capelin, a vital food source for Atlantic cod and whales, have moved north in search of colder feeding grounds.
As bottom-feeders like brittle stars and polychaete worms capitalize on phytoplankton blooms resulting from heatwaves, opportunistic predators like Atlantic cod have also benefited from the changing ecosystem dynamics.
The cascading effects of the 2003 marine heat wave highlight the profound impact of extreme events on marine ecosystems, underscoring the need for a deeper understanding of the mechanisms driving these changes.
While marine heat waves like the one in 2003 are linked to human-induced climate change, their intensity, frequency, and scale are exacerbated by the burning of fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The consequences of these events are becoming increasingly apparent, with implications for both regional ecosystems and global climate patterns.
As scientists strive to unravel the complexities of marine heat waves and their cascading effects, it is clear that understanding the role of ocean currents and air-sea heat exchange will be crucial for predicting future marine heat waves and mitigating their impacts.
The findings of this research were published in Science Advances, shedding light on the long-lasting repercussions of the 2003 marine heat wave on North Atlantic ecosystems.
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