ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey — August 11, 2012 — Ocean temperatures along and near the New Jersey coast have averaged between five and 10 degrees above normal since late last year, a phenomenon that has intrigued some scientists and has excited area residents and fishermen.
The mild winter meant that water retained much more heat than usual. When the weather warmed quickly this spring, it took significantly less time for the ocean's temperature to rise.
Additionally, the tranquil winter brought few storms to churn up the water. Combined with significantly fewer days this summer of strong westerly winds that create upwelling, the water warmed quickly and has stayed warm, Josh Kohut, an oceanographer with Rutgers University, told The Press of Atlantic City.
Winter's lowest recorded ocean surface water temperature was about 40 degrees, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The surface water temperature reached the mid-70s in June and the low 80s by July. A typical water temperature in June is in the mid-60s and in the mid-70s by July.
The surface isn't the only part of the ocean that is warmer; temperatures at the bottom of the sea also are above average in places. The boundary between colder bottom water and warmer surface water, known as a thermocline, near the New Jersey coast has seemingly blurred and weakened, according to data collected by an autonomous glider that has "flown" underwater for several weeks this summer.
"We're noticing that the thermoclines are much deeper and much weaker," said Bob Schuster, a state Department of Environmental Protection section chief who works with the glider program.
"(The warmth) is much more uniform throughout the water column."
The glider, which is about to be redeployed for another three-week mission, is a part of a joint program with the DEP, Rutgers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study the amount of oxygen in offshore water. However, the glider, which is a $108,000 torpedo-like device, also measures many other physical characteristics, including temperature profiles.
The warm winter also meant that the back bay waters never got very cold and warmed up quickly once the early spring arrived. Flounder have fled the bay shallows for deeper holes near inlets or have gone out into the ocean seeking cooler temperatures. Crabs began crawling out of the mud in the middle of March, weeks ahead of normal.
Bay temperatures have been in the upper 70s to low 80s in most places since early June, but in the grass flats of Barnegat Bay, the water temperature has been just below the threshold that causes heat-sensitive eel grass to die off, said Stockton College professor and sea grass researcher Jessie Jarvis.
Read the full story by the Associated Press here