Terence Lee

Topic: El Nino, La Nina, PDO and their effects on salmon habitat, productivity

http://www.climateark.org/articles/2000/1st/flmignr.htm- implications of climage change on salmon fisheries in Canada

fraser river salmon face global warming threat climate change could destroy spawning grounds

"The Fraser River fishery could be almost barren of salmon within a few decades if water temperatures continue to rise because of global warming"

"If summer temperatures go a degree or two higher most of the spawning fish will die, causing a collapse of the salmon resource in the system."

This is your doomsayer perspective of what is bound to happen to salmon given the current and projected oceanic and aquatic conditions.

http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/1999/06/061099/salmon_3645.asp- ENGO

"They could start migrating from their regular winter home in the Gulf of Alaska to the Bering Sea to find colder waters. Welch thinks the salmon could make it to the Bering Sea, but will have less chances of survival. Or they could possibly head down into the ocean's middle and colder layer, as opposed to the surface layer where they spend most of their time. But, Welch points out, the food supply there is not so great and there is little evidence they actually venture into other layers of the sea."

Here's an environmental non-governmental organization with a more conservative perspective on the fate of salmon in the Pacific Northwest.

http://www.ocgy.ubc.ca/projects/clim.pred/enso.canada.html- el nino & la nina effects on canada- el nino and la nina effects on canada

"During the winter of an El Nino event Southern British Columbia tends to receive less snow."

"What are the effects of an El Nino on Canada? Off the coast of British Columbia, the warm coastal waters during an El Nino tend to bring more southern marine species northward to our latitudes."

This website just throws out some ideas about el nino's effects in laymens' terms.

If you click on the link, More information from Environment Canada., it will take you the the Evironment Canada website which is the equivalent of our EPA.

http://ww2.wrh.noaa.gov/climate_info/ElNino_Page.htm- el nino

"The Phenomenon of anomalously warm waters off the Peruvian coast at varying intervals around Christmas dubbed El Niño, for the Christ Child, has been observed as early as the 1600's off the coast of Peru."

"El Niño events occur irregularly at intervals of 2-7 years, although the average is about once every 3-4 years. They typically last 12-18 months."

This is one of several websites to visit where you can blow your mind on the different types of oscillations associated with el nino. It provides a basic overview of what el nino is and it's origin.

http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/elnino/nino-home.html- el nino NOAA link page

Links galore! Go forth ye men and women and explore I say! This website has so many links about more than you wanted to know about el nino and la nina. Got questions, this page has answers.

http://www.elnino.noaa.gov/enso4.html- impacts of el nino on fish distribution

"Recent reports include the capture near San Francisco of the equatorial game fish mahi mahi, and swordfish, striped marlin, and blue marlin have been observed off California and along the Washington coast."

"A major consequence of an El Niño is the loss of commercially important species where they traditionally occur."

This website has great relevance to the effect of el nino on fish, particularly their migration patterns. For all you salmon junkies out there, this website has a small blurb about possible implications regarding sockeye salmon.

http://tao.atmos.washington.edu/pdo/- pdo

"The "Pacific Decadal Oscillation" (PDO) is a long-lived El Niño-like pattern of Pacific climate variability."

"Two main characteristics distinguish PDO from El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO): first, 20th century PDO "events" persisted for 20-to-30 years, while typical ENSO events persisted for 6 to 18 months; second, the climatic fingerprints of the PDO are most visible in the North Pacific/North American sector, while secondary signatures exist in the tropics - the opposite is true for ENSO."

Just some basic info on what Pacific Decadal Oscillation is.

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/Flagstaff/science/pdo.htm- what is PDO?

"PDO is not a 20-year El Niño/La Niña event."

"Fisheries scientist Steven Hare created the term "Pacific Decadal Oscillation" (PDO) in 1996 to describe an oscillation in northern Pacific sea surface temperatures (SSTs) that he noticed while researching connections between Alaska salmon production cycles and Pacific climate."

Does a good job of answering some burning questions people may have in general about PDO(Pacific Decadal Oscillation)