Miller, A.J., M. A. Alexander, D. J. Amaya, N. Cordero-Quirós,
C. A. Edwards, M, G. Jacox, J. Li, M. R. Stukel, 2026:
Physical oceanographic mechanisms associated with recent ecological responses in the
California Current Ecosystem.
BioScience, in press.
Abstract. The California Current System (CCS) is an upwelling eastern boundary ocean current
that supports a productive ecosystem through a multitude of physical processes. The fundamental
aspects of the ocean circulation are highlighted here and connected to their roles in driving and
modulating various components of the California Current Ecosystem (CCE) in the context of
pulse and press disturbances. Recent short-term climate events (pulses), such as marine heat
waves, that generated highly anomalous responses in the ecology are identified and explained in
terms of physical process drivers. The long-term vulnerability of the ecosystem to long-term
climate changes (presses) is also discussed. The need for ecologists to collaborate with physical
scientists to unravel the press vs. pulse impacts on the CCE through sustained physicalecological
observations and high-resolution modeling is emphasized.
Preprint (pdf)