Since 2010, the giant color patches in the Pacific Ocean have become a mystery for those who have witnessed them.
The unusual warm water patches in the Pacific, commonly referred to as “color patches,” have had detrimental effects on marine ecosystems since 2010. Now, humans have been able to uncover the reasons behind their emergence.
A recent publication from a group of international researchers, along with detailed computer simulations conducted earlier, has linked the appearance of these color patches to the reduction of aerosol emissions in China.
This indicates that policies aimed at improving the environment may also come with negative consequences.
The Pacific color patches have led to the deaths of many marine creatures.
The reason is that tiny particles in the air emitted by power plants are very effective at reflecting sunlight back into space, keeping the atmosphere cooler.
Without that layer of coverage, the Pacific would be exposed to more heat from the sun, combined with the increasing warmth due to human-induced global warming. These factors have contributed to the emergence of giant color patches in the Pacific.
The rapid reduction of aerosol emissions in China has caused abnormalities in atmospheric circulation outside the source region, leading to significant warming of the northeastern Pacific surface, creating favorable conditions for extreme ocean warming phenomena.
Various clean air laws enacted in China during the 2010s have effectively reduced levels of pollutants emitted into the air, resulting in improved air quality.
For instance, from 2006 to 2017, sulfur dioxide emissions decreased by about 70%. However, this also brought some adverse consequences for the ocean.
The research team suggests that it is not only the direct radiative effect of the ongoing aerosols that is at play. Aerosols are systems of small solid or liquid particles suspended in air or another gas. These particles are very small, typically ranging from a few nanometers to several tens of micrometers.
It is possible that a chain reaction of warming due to the absence of aerosols has helped alter weather systems, reducing wind speeds in specific areas of the Pacific and causing ocean patches to become excessively warm on a larger scale.
As is often the case with these complex meteorological systems, there are many influencing factors beyond natural variability. While it is not solely the reduction of emissions in China that has caused this, it appears to have made these incidents more likely and contributed to the warming trend.
These color patches have led to the mass deaths of fish, seabirds, and other marine organisms, as well as the bloom of harmful algae that can further damage the ecosystem by blocking sunlight and consuming oxygen.
The emergence of the Pacific color patches and their harmful consequences is yet another example of the incredibly fragile balance and the multitude of influencing factors at play across the planet.
