![]() You really have to have oceans in the equation when you're trying to understand climate impacts," Holsman explained. "The oceans are a major component of the Earth's system. What happens in the oceans also influences weather patterns everywhere. This shifts the balance of ocean life and introduces uncertainty into an environment upon which a large proportion of humanity relies, whether for food, recreation, income or nourishment for the soul. Oceans have absorbed around 90% of the excess heat from human-caused climate change. Oceans, though out-of-sight-out-of-mind for many land-locked residents, are central to our global climate, Holsman explained. More: Population growth brings greater climate risks to metro areas, report says, but also hope And so we can do a comparison," Asner explained. "One of the reasons I like using Hawaii as a model for the world is that, if you look down at a map of Hawaii, there are areas of intense development and there are areas that are still completely wild, with no development. More: ASU to dedicate $192 million sustainable facility amid full slate of Earth Week eventsįrom Hawaii, Asner led the recently published effort to map, for the first time, coral reef mortality before and after a major marine heat wave. He says it's part of the vision ASU president Michael Crow and Vice Provost Peter Schlosser have for leveraging Phoenix-based talent and resources to contribute to a more sustainable and habitable planet for all humankind. ![]() And he loves that he can do it while living full-time in the Hawaiian Islands. He loves his job and his boss and being a part of ASU's Global Futures Laboratory. Marine ecologist Greg Asner is employed by Arizona State University, as a professor and director of the Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science. Populations of salmon and other important fish species plummeted, straining the Pacific fishing industry. Fin whales and sea otters started washing up dead while baby seals starved on shore for all to see. ![]() In the mid-2010s heat wave, higher ocean temperatures fueled the growth of less-nutritious types of algae. Marine life suffered in both "Blob" events. Scientists called it "The Blob 2.0." The original "Blob" developed in 2013 as a strange pool of warm water off the coast of Alaska, then quickly expanded all the way to Mexico in a meteorological phenomenon that lingered until early 2016 and "was so persistent and unusual that it initially defied explanation," according to NASA. In 2019, about 4,600 miles from Arizona, a marine heat wave cranked up the temperature in the waters around Hawaii. For several sweltering summer months, a low pressure system sat over the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California and led to decreased cooling winds and sea surface temperatures 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit higher than normal.
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