Dramatic long-term shift in Pacific ecosystem
Thursday, January 9, 2014 - 09:30
in Earth & Climate
The Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) has enabled scientists to determine that a long-term shift in nitrogen content in the Pacific Ocean has occurred as a result of climate change. Researchers from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the University of California – Santa Cruz analyzed deep-sea corals gathered near the Hawaiian Islands using the HURL Pisces V submersible. They observed overall nitrogen fixation in the North Pacific Ocean has increased by about 20 percent since the mid 1800s and this long-term change appears to be continuing today, according to a study published recently in the journal, Nature.