The strange relation between ocean disturbances and terrestrial climate has been underscored in a new study. The Pacific Ocean faced the unusual occurrence of a mass of warm water known as "the blob" from 2013 to 2015 with a moderate growth in 2016, which triggered many problems in the ocean's environment.
The blob affected the marine system in the 3.5 million-square-mile stretch starting from Mexico to Alaska.
First detected in 2013, the blob spread in 2014 and 2015 though its growth was moderate in 2016.
A study conducted by researchers from the University of Washington Bothell showed that ocean conditions that turned messy because of the blob also impacted the offshore climate.
Mass die-offs were reported in the ocean during this period when temperatures jumped 3 degrees Celsius more than the average, including the deaths of thousands of California sea lions due to starvation.
The research has been published in Geophysical Research Letters.
"Ultimately, it all links back to the blob, which was the most unusual meteorological event we've had in decades," said Dan Jaffe, a team member from the University of Washington Bothell and the lead author.
Ozone Formed By Terrestrial Effects
According to scientists, the blob had few parallels and its effect on land manifested as warmer temperatures, low cloud cover, and calmer air.
These became the key ingredients to produce ozone, which is a component of smog and acts as a secondary pollutant.
Formed by a chain reaction between pollutants from automobiles, factories, and other sources with solar rays, ozone is hazardous to health and its volumes are regulated by federal rules.
The study said the areas that recorded higher-than-normal ozone were the same regions where high temperatures were experienced.
Jaffe and team have been tracking ozone levels in the United States since 2004. They noticed the big spike in ozone levels in 2015 and wondered if the blobs had anything to do with it. The research group tracked ozone changes atop Mount Bachelor in central Oregon.
To validate the connection, the team mapped out the duration of the blob using satellites and tracked fluctuations in temperature on the surface of the Pacific Ocean between 2014 and 2016.
They found that the blob's influence majorly impacted quality of air above Washington, Oregon, western Utah and northern California with the escalation of ozone, according to the study.
"Washington and Oregon were really the bull's eye for the whole thing, because of the location of the winds," said Jaffe.
Jaffe described Salt Lake City and Sacramento on the edge because their ozone is always a bit higher and the cities had acute effects.
The June 2015 ozone levels at the observatory were 12 parts per billion, higher than the average of all previous observations.
Climate Variability And Air Quality
Warmer temperatures favor ozone production, according to Jaffe who also added that the study suggests more scrutiny of the broader climate patterns in air quality and human health.
According to the lead author, the work would help in establishing the linkages between climate variability and air quality and give an idea of what to expect when the Earth turns warmer.
Reflecting on the current environmental laws, Jaffe stressed the need for accommodating the variability that is becoming evident.
"Our environmental laws need to be written with an understanding that there's a lot of variability from one year to the next, and with an understanding of the long-term path of where we're heading under climate change," Jaffe said.
