North Pacific Marine Heatwave

In the winter of 2015, the public noticed thousands of dead seabirds washing ashore across the western coast of the United States and Canada. The USGS linked this massive seabird die-off to the North Pacific Marine Heatwave. A marine heatwave occurs when sea surface temperatures are above normal for an extended period of time. This marine heatwave caused north Pacific Ocean temperatures to increase far above normal from 2013-2016, making it the longest marine heatwave on record for the region.

For more information on the North Pacific Marine Heatwave visit:

Marine and Coastal Resources Continue to Feel the Effects of the Marine Heatwave (NPS)
https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1349/marineheatwaveimpacts.htm

Heatwave-induced synchrony within forage fish portfolio disrupts energy flow to top pelagic predators (Wiley Online Library) 
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.15556

Extreme mortality and reproductive failure of common murres resulting from the northeast Pacific marine heatwave of 2014-2016 (PLOS One)
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226087

Video: https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/north-pacific-marine-heatwave

Видео North Pacific Marine Heatwave канала USGS