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conferenceseries
.com
Volume 8, Issue 10 (Suppl)
J Earth Sci Clim Change, an open access
ISSN: 2157-7617
Climate Change 2017
October 19-21, 2017
CLIMATE CHANGE
October 19-21, 2017 | Rome, Italy
4
th
World Conference on
Climate change in the coastal Ocean: Trends and processes from the middle Atlantic bight of the U.S.
Glen Gawarkiewicz
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA
Statement of the Problem:
There has been increasing attention on changes in the circulation and ecosystems of continental
shelves in various regions of the world. A region that is changing rapidly is the Middle Atlantic Bight of the northeastern U.S.,
where a recent warming trend has been identified and there have been significant impacts on the seasonal movements and
spatial distributions of fish. An important question is what types of forcing result in warming events, specifically whether
atmospheric forcing via Jet Stream motions or offshore forcing via Gulf Stream interactions have primarily caused large
temperature anomalies.
Methodology and Theoretical Orientation:
Recent observations have been used to determine the warming trend of
temperature over the continental shelf off New Jersey over a 37 year period. The extreme warming event in 2012 has been
investigated using both observations and numerical models of ocean circulation. Data collected by fishermen in early 2017
show Gulf Stream water extending across much of the continental shelf.
Findings:
Average shelf-wide temperature has been increasing off New Jersey in recent decades although with significant
interannual variability. The more recent trend from 2003-2013 is much larger than the trend from 1977-2013. It appears that
warm water is encroaching more frequently from the edge of the continental shelf, indicating more influence from Gulf Stream
forcing. The extreme warming in 2012 resulted from a northward shift in the position of the Jet Stream that reduced cooling of
the coastal ocean by 50 per cent during the winter. During early 2017, warm Gulf Stream water extended across much of the
continental shelf south of New England resulting in warm anomalies of 5-6 Deg. C.
Conclusions and Significance:
Recent warming has had significant impacts on the continental shelf ecosystem and
commercial fisheries. More observations are needed to establish causes and processes affected by this warming. Coastal ocean
observatories will be helpful in this regard.
Biography
Glen Gawarkiewicz is a Senior Scientist in the Physical Oceanography Department of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He is a sea-going oceanographer
whose research interests include shelfbreak exchange processes, coastal ocean circulation, coastal ocean observatories, and inter-disciplinary science in the
coastal ocean.
gleng@whoi.eduGlen Gawarkiewicz, J Earth Sci Clim Change 2017, 8:10(Suppl)
DOI: 10.4172/2157-7617-C1-036