Denizens of the deep surface in mysterious profusion / Temperature decrease may be a factor
4:40 am, May 09, 2014
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Giant oarfish over four meters in length and giant squid with massive tentacles... Deep-sea creatures whose biology is still cloaked in mystery have been found one after another along the coast of the Japan Sea since the beginning of the year. Experts believe that a change in sea temperature has had some kind of effect, but the cause remains unknown.
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Although there is concern on the Internet that perhaps the string of deep-water-creature finds is a sign of an upcoming earthquake, experts presume that the structure of the Japan Sea and change in sea temperature have something to do with it.
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The temperature around 200 meters below the surface of the sea was about 1 degree lower than the average this winter, meaning that an extremely high-impact change occurred in the deep ocean, according to the Sea of Japan Marine Meterological Center at the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Although the reason for the drop in water temperature is unclear, Kunio Amaoka, a professor emeritus at Hokkaido University, points out that this change made the cold water zone in deep waters larger than usual.
The professor?s perspective is that because deep-water creatures have poor muscle development and are not good swimmers, they cannot escape from the larger-than-usual cold water zone when they run into it. They then become weak and float up, before being swept to waters near the shore...
