Pacific Hot Spots

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Anticyclonic (clockwise-rotating) eddies of water act as oases in the open ocean off the Pacific coast of Central America. Image: Daniel Palacios, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Southwest Fisheries Science Center.

Wind jetting through the mountain passes of Central America moves warm, enriched coastal waters offshore into the Pacific. These eddies of warm water, stronger and more prevalent during El Niño years and weaker and less common during La Niña years, may meld, forming hot spots in the open sea. Census scientists have learned the hot spots support elevated levels of the tiny phytoplankton that form the base of the marine food web. These verdant meadows in the vast Pacific in turn attract or concentrate species from all tiers of the food web from shrimp to large predators like tuna, seabirds, and whales.