When there is a storm, what happens to marine creatures?

When a storm hits, what happens to the creatures that live in the sea?

According to Science ABC , for hundreds of millions of people living on the coast all over the world, the types of increasingly harsh weather in recent years have become a real problem. Climate change in general is believed to be the cause of extreme weather patterns around the world. Fires are constantly raging out of control in the western United States, earthquakes are increasingly variable and tropical storms devastate all parts of the world.

While tornadoes and storms are one of the most frightening events for people living on the coast, have you ever thought about the effects of these storms on aquatic organisms? It seems to be a safe place, where wind and rain are avoided, but is it true?

What is a storm?

In order to understand the impact of a storm on a particular environment, it is important to first understand the cause of the storm and their nature. A storm will grow on warm sea water due to warm, moist air. As this air rises, it leaves a low pressure area near the water. The higher pressure air from the surrounding area will flood in to fill this low pressure area, and will therefore be heated by warm air and then fly into the air. As the process continues, the air begins to spin and spin, and the final air will become cool and turn into rain-filled clouds.

A storm will grow on warm sea water due to warm, moist air.

The long-lasting, self-sustaining storm will grow and grow, travel through tropical regions, leaving devastation in its awakening area, especially near the coast, where large waves of wind Created can grow into towering waves. However, when a full-size storm landed, it no longer had a constant warm air source to provide energy, so it began to lose energy and reduce the scale eventually becoming a normal storm on land.

Storms and marine life

Most people have seen the devastation left after a storm; image of flooded roads, destroyed buildings and ruined beaches. However, what little is known about a hurricane beneath the waves and the terrible impact on the seabed community.

When large waves become stormy waves, they can reach a height of 60 feet or more (over 18 meters) and lead to mixing a lot of warm surface water - significantly diluted by rainwater and cold water from more depth has higher salinity. This blend not only happens on the surface, but also on the surface of hundreds of feet, creating an extremely fast flow of water under subterranean waves.

When the storm appeared, it created a very fast flowing water under the underground waves.

Move further from the shore, into deeper waters, allowing larger animals to avoid strong currents and change salinity levels. This is why whales, sharks and dolphins often live near the coast but are less affected by storms; they are capable, intelligent, and also quite sensitive to changes in temperature or salinity. Sharks are often the first organisms to detect a storm, because they can detect small changes in water pressure and will move to safer deep waters.

For most creatures that spend their whole lives in a coral reef or a small local ecosystem, the idea of ​​escaping to safer waters is impossible. When those currents tear up coastal ecosystems, they cannot go back empty-handed. Fast flowing water entails silt, dirt and other materials, including contaminants and potentially toxic substances. Water becomes cloudy, and it is difficult to see through, mud and dirt often clog fish gills, making them unable to breathe. The power of waves can also throw fish and other sea creatures (even as large as seals) out of the water, where they will run aground and suffocate.

Rapid changes in salinity and water temperature can also cause discomfort to marine life when storms occur.

Similar underwater currents can disrupt coral reefs, and even cover them with silt and dust, changing the composition of all coastal environments. This can stifle life from a coral reef, while dirt can prevent light and oxygen from going down deep into the water and make many creatures "desperate ".

In addition to the physical movement of water and its components, rapid changes in salinity and water temperature can also cause discomfort for adaptive organisms in a narrow range for survival. Coral reefs, for example, have started bleaching around the world due to higher ocean temperatures, but physical damage from the storm can also destroy up to 20% of the area's coral.

Is there a real benefit to a storm?

If you ask any of these people this question, the answer is no, and most marine ecosystems also want to avoid complete storms, but in the long run there may be some benefits . For example, similar currents that break coral reefs can also carry those fragments to new areas where they can land and can start new coral reefs.

The storms certainly fall into the negative side for marine life.

Some species also benefit from the consequences of the storm because of changes occurring in the human population. More specifically, after a major storm, the fishing industry in a certain area may suffer damage, ie the ship is broken, damage to coastal infrastructure, etc. Therefore, it is possible There are more fish in the water, leading to more resources for large mammals, and a better reason to breed in larger numbers. However, "benefits are ineffective", these cannot compensate for the destructive nature of the storm.

In short, storms are definitely negative for marine life. They can choke fish, break down ecosystems, change salinity and destroy coral reefs in a matter of hours. Although there are some minor peripheral benefits for some species, these tropical storms remain one of the largest natural threats to marine life, but the severity of these increases is This storm can be blamed on humanity when they have many impacts on climate change.