PMEL in the News
Huge Puffin Die-Off May Be Linked to Hotter Seas
The tufted puffins started washing ashore on St. Paul Island in mid-October—first a handful, then dozens, then so many that volunteers patrolling to collect dead birds began walking their four-wheelers rather than riding. It was easier than getting off every few feet. The hundreds of dead, emaciated puffins showing up on this isolated, wind-swept scratch of land in the Pribilof Islands in the middle of the North Pacific suddenly has scientists worried—about the population of this white-masked, orange-beaked seabird, but also about what their deaths may portend for the normally productive Bering Sea.
Chance of lowland winter snow highest in years
Snow clouds are on the horizon for the second half of the winter in the Western Washington with a La Nina-generated potential for lowland snow sticking for the first time in four years.
Are you melting the Arctic? How your CO2 emissions add up.
Climate expert expects ‘some major flooding’ this winter
Federal climatologists predict that dry conditions will generally recede over the winter in Washington. Oregon, Idaho and parts of Northern California, providing an early and upbeat outlook on next year’s water supply. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center forecast a 70 percent chance of a weak La Niña, a cooling of the ocean around the equator.
The Blob, Hangover Edition: Lingering Pool Of Warm Ocean Water Messing With Us
A vast pool of warmer-than-normal ocean water off of the West Coast continues to mess with our weather and sea life. It’s nicknamed “The Blob.” University of Washington research scientist and Washington State Climatologist Nick Bond coined the name for The Blob when he first noticed it offshore in 2014. It has swelled and waned and shifted around since.