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Ocean biogeochemical signatures of the North Pacific Blob
  • +9
  • Samuel Mogen,
  • Nicole Suzanne Lovenduski,
  • Allysa R. Dallman,
  • Luke Gregor,
  • Adrienne J. Sutton,
  • Steven J. Bograd,
  • Nathali Cordero Quiros,
  • Emanuele Di Lorenzo,
  • Elliott L. Hazen,
  • Michael G Jacox,
  • Mercedes Pozo Buil,
  • Stephen Yeager
Samuel Mogen
University of Colorado Boulder

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Nicole Suzanne Lovenduski
University of Colorado Boulder
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Allysa R. Dallman
Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin
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Luke Gregor
Unknown
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Adrienne J. Sutton
NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
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Steven J. Bograd
Southwest Fisheries Science Centre, NOAA Fisheries Service
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Nathali Cordero Quiros
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
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Emanuele Di Lorenzo
Georgia Institute of Technology
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Elliott L. Hazen
ERD, SWFSC, NMFS, NOAA
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Michael G Jacox
NOAA Fisheries
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Mercedes Pozo Buil
University of California Santa Cruz
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Stephen Yeager
National Center for Atmospheric Research
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Abstract

The Blob was a marine heat wave in the Northeast Pacific from 2013 to 2016. While the upper ocean temperature in the Blob has been well described, the impacts on marine biogeochemistry have not been fully studied. Here, we characterize and develop understanding of Eastern North Pacific upper ocean biogeochemical properties during the Winter of 2013-14 using in situ observations, an observation-based product, and reconstructions from a collection of ocean models. We find that the Blob is associated with significant upper ocean biogeochemical anomalies: a 5% increase in aragonite saturation state (temporary reprieve of ocean acidification) and a 3% decrease in oxygen concentration (enhanced deoxygenation). Anomalous advection and mixing drives the aragonite saturation anomaly, while anomalous heating and air-sea gas exchange drive the oxygen anomaly. Marine heatwaves do not necessarily serve as an analogue for future change as they may enhance or mitigate long-term trends.