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Ecoscenario: Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary 4/16/03 3:22 PM Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library Light levels are low on the ocean bottom in a kelp forest. Light does not penetrate water easily. For this reason, the amount of light on the ocean's surface is not the same amount that hits the ocean floor. The top few meters has a lot of light and is called the photic zone. The amount of light decreases with depth. In some areas, light can penetrate as deep as 900 meters (3000 feet). In a kelp forest, the light cannot go as deep because the kelp is so dense. The area that does not have light is called the aphotic zone. When northwest winds blow on the surface of the ocean, they cause deep water upwelling. Upwelling brings cold, nutrientrich water to the surface from 25–300 meters (80–1000 feet) below. The surface temperature may drop as much as 5°C (9°F) with upwelling. Nutrients, like nitrates, phosphates, and silicates, are brought up to the photic zone. Here they are available to organisms that photosynthesize. Upwelling is strongest in the spring. Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library In January 1998, during the El Niño event, warm equatorial waters did not contain nutrients needed by phytoplankton to grow and produce chlorophyll. Every 3 to 7 years, El Niño disrupts the ocean-atmosphere system in the Pacific Ocean. El Niño, which usually occurs in the winter, is caused by a change of current patterns near the equator. Weaker equatorial winds cannot draw up the colder, nutrient-rich water from deep in the ocean. This allows the warmer, nutrient-poor surface water to flow in the currents that feed Monterey Bay. file:///Ecoscenario/monterey/content.html Page 6 of 14
Ecoscenario: Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary 4/16/03 3:22 PM Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library By July 1998, at the end of the El Niño event, colder equatorial water appeared. A bloom of photosynthetic phytoplankton and chlorophyll indicated increased nutrients. During an El Niño year, the water at Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and along the entire west coast of the United States is unusually warm, which results in higher rainfall and more storms. Some years with very strong El Niño events were 1982–1983 and 1997–1998. The year following an El Niño usually is a La Niña year. During La Niña, the water is cooler than normal. Courtesy of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Rockfish populations are affected by El Niño and La Niña conditions. El Niño is not bad for all of the fishes. The ocean floor in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is mostly hard granite. Some sandy ocean floor is found in coves closer to shore. Within the sanctuary, the ocean floor drops gradually at first. This shallow area is the continental shelf. As you move farther from land, the ocean floor drops steeply onto the abyssal plain. The sanctuary also has underwater canyons up to 4000 meters (13,000 feet) deep. Monterey Canyon is the deepest, and it runs right out from Monterey Bay. Because these deep canyons are so close to shore, deep-ocean creatures can be observed near the coast, making Monterey Bay a unique area. file:///Ecoscenario/monterey/content.html Page 7 of 14
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