How is climate change affecting Monterey Bay?
The impacts on Monterey Bay It too is becoming warmer, more acidic, and depleted of oxygen. These changes put additional stress on marine wildlife, from zooplankton to whales. The surface of Monterey Bay has warmed about 0.8°C (1.4°F) since 1930.
What are the most important abiotic factors in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary?
ABIOTIC DATA. The ocean is influenced by abiotic factors in the air and water, and along the ocean bottom. Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is affected by ocean currents, nutrient upwelling, and El Niño events. The shape of the seabed and the strength of waves are also important.
What kind of environment is Monterey Bay?
Encompassing 6,094 square statute miles, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is one of the richest, most diverse marine environments in the world, encompassing wave-swept beaches, lush kelp forests, and one of the deepest underwater canyons in North America.
What does the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary protect?
The sanctuary provides habitat for 36 species of marine mammals, 94 species of seabirds, at least 525 species of fish, 4 of turtles, 31 phyla of invertebrates, and more than 450 species of marine algae. Historical sites include 1,276 reported shipwrecks and 718 prehistoric sites.
Is Monterey Bay warming?
Since 1930, the surface of Monterey Bay has warmed about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius). This warming has been linked to large blooms of toxic algae — like the one that delayed the Dungeness crab fishing season in 2015.
How climate change is affecting the oceans?
Climate change warms the ocean, causing knock-on effects such as thermal expansion – which leads to a rise in sea level – and changes in ocean currents. The melting of ice both on land and in the sea also affects the ocean, causing more sea-level rise and reducing the salinity of the ocean, respectively.
How do humans affect the Monterey Bay?
Human Impact Human uses of the sanctuary include diving, kayaking, boating, fishing, surfing, tidepooling, and wildlife viewing. Coastal tourism, agriculture, and commercial fishing are important to the regional economy, with direct links to the sanctuary.
How does a national marine sanctuary differ from a marine protected area?
In the United States, a marine protected area, or MPA, broadly encompasses just about any watery area that enjoys some level of specific legal safeguard. Sanctuaries, reserves, preserves…they’re all types of marine protected areas. They’re not even exclusively federal. Some MPAs are state or local creations.
What is so special about Monterey Bay?
It is no wonder that the biological richness and unique habitats of Monterey Bay are teeming with wildlife and is one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world. It is an underwater treasure full of the tiniest nudibranches to the world’s largest mammal the blue whale.
Why is Monterey Bay such an important oceanic region?
The region is a global capital for ocean science and technology and Monterey Bay is among the most studied areas of the ocean. It’s also a natural setting for science-based policy solutions, thanks to a cluster of ocean conservation organizations and government agencies bordering a network of marine protected areas.
What are Monterey Bay NMS benefits and why does it matter to protect our bay?
And that’s one reason why national marine sanctuaries, such as Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, are important. The ocean covers two-thirds of our planet, provides half the oxygen we breathe, and it supplies food, influences weather, and absorbs excess carbon from the atmosphere.
How does climate change affect the ocean animals?
The ocean absorbs most of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions, leading to rising ocean temperatures. Increasing ocean temperatures affect marine species and ecosystems. Rising temperatures cause coral bleaching and the loss of breeding grounds for marine fishes and mammals.
What are impaired water bodies in Monterey Bay?
: Location of impaired water bodies in the Monterey Bay sanctuary and in sub-basins that drain to the sanctuary. Impaired water bodies include river segments, coastal shorelines, harbors, bays, and estuaries that do not meet, or are not expected to meet, Federal Clean Water Act water quality standards.
What is the significance of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary?
This section describes the nature and extent of the most prominent human induced pressures in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The sanctuary is located in an area of critical importance to the conduct of maritime commerce, which is a major component of the regional and national economy.
Why does Monterey Bay need to be dredged?
Periodic dredging of the local harbors is necessary to continue to allow access for vessels (Figure 22). There are four major harbors adjacent to the Monterey Bay sanctuary: Pillar Point, Santa Cruz, Moss Landing, and Monterey. Santa Cruz and Moss Landing regularly dredge the bottom of the harbor.
Are there biotoxins in Monterey Bay?
In Monterey Bay and other coastal waters in the sanctuary, populations of naturally occurring algae occasionally grow to very high concentrations and some can produce extremely potent biotoxins.