Could the blob' negatively impact salmon survivalP

摘要

Salmon forecast: NOAA Fisheries is forecasting that 2015 could prove to be a "relatively poor year" for salmon survival.Though El Nino conditions were considered neutral in 2014, sea surface temperatures were warmer than usual. A moving mass of warm water that researchers referred to repeatedly as "the blob" -so named, apparently, by Nick Bond, Washington's state climatolo-gist - expanded during the summer, and unusually warm waters were recorded even in the Bering Sea. The blob was both wide and thick, with warm water found to depths of 100 meters on survey cruises in early spring and mid-summer.Researchers and fisheries managers say good ocean conditions have kept salmon strong in the ocean in recent years, but juveniles entering the ocean last year "encountered below average ocean conditions off Oregon and Washington," according to NOAA. This, they predict, will likely mean below average returns of adult coho salmon this year and of Chinook salmon next year.