Abstract

Eastern boundary current systems are among the world's most productive large marine ecosystems. Because upwelling currents transport nutrient-rich but oxygen-depleted water onto shallow seas, large expanses of productive continental shelves can be vulnerable to the risk of extreme low-oxygen events. Here, we report the novel rise of water-column shelf anoxia in the northern California Current system, a large marine ecosystem with no previous record of such extreme oxygen deficits. The expansion of anoxia highlights the potential for rapid and discontinuous ecosystem change in productive coastal systems that sustain a major portion of the world's fisheries.

Keywords

UpwellingEcosystemCurrent (fluid)OceanographyMarine ecosystemEnvironmental scienceContinental shelfWater columnHypoxia (environmental)FisheryEcologyOxygenGeologyBiologyChemistry

MeSH Terms

AnimalsBacteriaEcosystemFishesInvertebratesOxygenPacific OceanPopulation DynamicsSeasonsSeawaterWater Movements

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Publication Info

Year
2008
Type
article
Volume
319
Issue
5865
Pages
920-920
Citations
608
Access
Closed

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Cite This

Francis Chan, John A. Barth, Jane Lubchenco et al. (2008). Emergence of Anoxia in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem. Science , 319 (5865) , 920-920. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1149016

Identifiers

DOI
10.1126/science.1149016
PMID
18276882

Data Quality

Data completeness: 86%