How climate change could be driving ‘killer’ cold outbreaks in oceans

1 comment

1. It’s not just ocean heat that’s affecting marine life – new research shows extremely cold events are welling up and causing mass mortalities. And the same planet-warming pollution that’s driving the climate crisis is likely to blame for these “killer events” on the other end of the temperature spectrum.

   The world’s oceans have been plagued by unprecedented heat over the past year, fueling concerns for marine life. Billions of crabs disappeared in the northern Pacific; sea lions and dolphins are washing up sick; iconic coral reefs are undergoing mass bleaching.

   But even as ocean temperatures climb, extremely cold upwelling events — when strong winds and ocean currents bring pockets of cold water up to the surface, replacing the warm water that was there — are also becoming more frequent and intense, threatening sea life, according to the study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.

   “Climate change is actually really complex,” said Nicolas Lubitz, lead author of the study and a researcher at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia. “It’s not just warming of the globe, but it’s really changing the way our oceans function.”

   When Lubitz heard reports of marine animals like sharks, manta rays and squids washing up dead in the southeast coast of South Africa in March 2021, he started investigating. More than 260 marine animals from 81 different species died in that one extreme event.

   [*Read more about this story*](https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/15/climate/cold-ocean-upwelling-sharks-climate/index.html) *or visit* [*CNN Climate*](https://www.instagram.com/cnnclimate) *on Instagram.*