As I touched on in "Monthly Pacific Decadal Oscillation Anomalies":
The University of Washington is the lead institution on the study of the PDO, having discovered the phenomena while asking the question "Where are the salmon" back in 1996....From PhysOrg:
A federal oceanographer says a flip-flop in atmospheric conditions is creating a feast for salmon and other sea life off the West Coast, reversing a trend that contributed to a virtual shutdown of West Coast salmon fishing this summer.
Bill Peterson of NOAA Fisheries in Newport said Tuesday the change in cycle of an atmospheric condition known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation last fall has brought cold water flows from the Gulf of Alaska, which are carrying an abundance of tiny animals known as copepods that are the foundation of the food chain.
It's unknown how long the good times will last, but Peterson said ocean surveys of chinook salmon in June found lots of yearling juveniles, which should grow up to be plentiful stocks of adults by 2010. Coho surveys start in a couple weeks...MORE
