Climate crisis – heating oceans affecting Tasman Sea marine life, and seafood industries
‘Not very happy’: Tasman Sea warmth puts the heat on key fisheries, Brisbane Times, By Peter Hannam, March 2, 2019 Back-to-back summer heatwaves in the Tasman Sea that have affected marine life and seafood industries in Australia and New Zealand could be another sign of the warming climate, scientists say.
Australia has just had its warmest summer by far, with the role of so-called blocking highs in the Tasman seen by meteorologists as key to the build-up of record-breaking heat over the country’s south-east.
The still conditions brought by those highs have the effect of limiting ocean mixing, while the relatively cloudless skies allowed solar radiation to warm the waters of the Tasman to a greater-than-usual depth.
By the Bureau of Meteorology’s definition, a marine heatwave occurs when temperatures in the top 10 per cent of readings for that time of year exist for at least five days. The Tasman Sea has met the definition for months on end, two years in a row………
The effect on marine ecosystems, fishing and aquaculture industries “can be devastating, including killing off kelp forests and corals”……… https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/weather/not-very-happy-tasman-sea-warmth-puts-the-heat-on-key-fisheries-20190302-p511cr.html
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