The Galapagos Islands are already famed for biodiversity. Could the water offshore become a refuge for marine animals seeking cold water in a warming world? (via hakaimagazine)
Pushed by climate change, almost every part of the ocean is heating up. But off the west coast of the Galapagos Islands, there is a patch of cold, nutrient-rich water. This prosperous patch feeds phytoplankton and breathes life into the archipelago.
There are other cold pools on the planet. One, in the North Atlantic just south of Greenland, is caused by the weakening of a global current that carries heat north. But according toled by Kris Karnauskas and Donata Giglio, climate scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder, the Galapagos cold pool is a product of the shape of the seafloor and the rotation of the planet—two things unlikely to change because of rising greenhouse gases.
Karnauskas and Giglio’s work shows that when the EUC gets within 100 kilometers west of the Galapagos Islands, it suddenly intensifies as it’s diverted upward by the islands. This causes the water to be up to 1.5 °C cooler than the water outside this cold pool. The researchers found a similar, yet weaker, effect west of the Gilbert Islands in the western Pacific Ocean.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
San Diego's Galapagos Grandma Celebrates 138th BirthdayThe San Diego Zoo is throwing the shindig of the century for a beloved Galapagos tortoise’s birthday. One of the oldest members of the San Diego Zoo, named Grandma, turned 138 Tuesday.
Read more »
Nigerian stowaways survive 11-day journey to Canary Islands on rudder of shipThree Nigerian men survived an 11-day journey from Lagos to the Canary Islands while stowed away on a ship's rudder. Now they face being returned home unless they're able to claim asylum in Spain.
Read more »
Nigerian stowaways found on ship's rudder in Canary IslandsThree stowaways were found on a ship's rudder in the Canary Islands after an 11-day ocean voyage from Nigeria, Spain’s maritime rescue service said. The men found on the Alithini II oil tanker at the Las Palmas port on Monday afternoon appeared to have symptoms of dehydration and hypothermia and were transferred to hospitals on the island for medical attention, according to Spain's Maritime Safety and Rescue Society. The survivors were all from Nigeria, the Spanish government’s delegation in the Canary Islands told The Associated Press.
Read more »
Nigerian stowaways found on ship's rudder in Canary IslandsBARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Three stowaways were found on a ship's rudder in the Canary Islands after an 11-day ocean voyage from Nigeria, Spain’s maritime rescue service said. The men found on the Alithini II oil tanker at the Las Palmas port on Monday afternoon appeared to have symptoms of dehydration and hypothermia and were transferred to hospitals on the island for medical attention, according to Spain's Maritime Safety and Rescue Society.
Read more »
Stowaways survive 11-day voyage to Canary Islands aboard tanker's rudderThree dehydrated and hypothermic stowaways were found on a ship's rudder in the Canary Islands after an 11-day, 2,800-mile ocean voyage from Nigeria.
Read more »