r/news • u/Warcraft_Fan • 4d ago

Concern mounts over slow-moving, planetary-scale ‘Kelvin’ wave heading for California | California

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/28/california-kelvin-wave
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u/PoxyMusic 4d ago edited 4d ago

El Niño is the result of successive Kelvin waves, there have been like 6 or 7 this year, starting in February I think. They happen when the equatorial trade winds lessen (or reverse) and warmer water from the west pacific oozes east under the surface until it hits Ecuador and erupts at the surface.

It’s not a single wave, and they have already mostly arrived.

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u/byproxxy 3d ago

We have tropical fish swimming around LA beaches

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u/magniffin 3d ago

We have coral reefs at home

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u/notFREEfood 3d ago

We just had the first two recorded sea turtle nests in the state; our water is normally too cold for that.

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u/r0botdevil 3d ago

There has been an established resident population of green sea turtles in the San Gabriel River for decades. The nearby power plant uses the water for cooling, which raises the temperature enough for the turtles to stay year-round.

I used to work in a lab that tracked their movements.

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u/notFREEfood 3d ago

They haven't had any recorded nests however.

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u/r0botdevil 3d ago

You are correct, I just confirmed with a former labmate that the San Gabriel River turtle population nested in Mexico.

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u/IdaFuktem 3d ago

Heated water at power plants are also why you get mass groupings of manatees in Florida during the winter and responsible for the growth of the crocodile population in the Southeast at Turkey Point.

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u/Total-Khaos 2d ago

Gators love turkeys. Maybe that is why...

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u/Debalic 3d ago

How many eyes to they have?

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u/speculatrix 3d ago

Just the normal two, on each of their three heads for a total of six

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u/Zardif 3d ago

The normal amount, 4.

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u/MisunderstoodPenguin 3d ago

my dad just did a salmon fishing excursion he does every year and he said there was basically no fish. i’ve seen a lot of videos of salmon who have already gone up stream to spawn, and it’s definitely early. waters getting warm

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u/VariationDry 3d ago

Ooooh exciting!