The highest Atlantic Ocean Northeast Continental Shelf surface temperatures ever recorded were observed offshore during the first six months of 2012, federal researchers say.
Above-average temperatures extended throughout the ecosystem at all depths, from the surface to the ocean bottom, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration reported.
They stretched beyond the shelf itself into the Gulf Stream, NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center reported in its latest Ecosystem Advisory.
This year’s annual spring plankton bloom started earlier and lasted longer than average — something that affects all marine life, from the smallest critters to the largest marine mammals, such as whales, NOAA said.
As one example: Atlantic cod distribution continued to shift northeastward from the population’s historic distribution center, the agency said.
http://nhregister.com/articles/2012/09/20/news/doc505bad15f2d24720102420.txt
Above-average temperatures extended throughout the ecosystem at all depths, from the surface to the ocean bottom, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration reported.
They stretched beyond the shelf itself into the Gulf Stream, NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center reported in its latest Ecosystem Advisory.
This year’s annual spring plankton bloom started earlier and lasted longer than average — something that affects all marine life, from the smallest critters to the largest marine mammals, such as whales, NOAA said.
As one example: Atlantic cod distribution continued to shift northeastward from the population’s historic distribution center, the agency said.
http://nhregister.com/articles/2012/09/20/news/doc505bad15f2d24720102420.txt