Warming From Recent Marine Heatwave Lingers in Deep British Columbia Fjord

Abstract

Abstract While satellite data indicate that the surface expression of the North Pacific marine heatwave, nicknamed “The Blob,” disappeared in late 2016, Argo float and ship‐based conductivity‐temperature‐depth data show that warm conditions persisted below the surface mixed layer through at least March 2018. We trace this anomalously warm subsurface water from the open ocean through Queen Charlotte Sound to Rivers Inlet, on British Columbia's central coast. In Rivers Inlet, deep water below the sill depth continues to be 0.3° to 0.6 °C warmer than the monthly average, suggesting that impacts of this marine heatwave have persisted in coastal waters at least 4 years after its onset, with potentially substantial effects on coastal ecosystems.