This gives new meaning to the phrase “cold wind.”

Strong offshore winds have brought cold, nutrient-dense waters from the bottom of the ocean to the surface this spring, a rare occurrence that has both cooled Central Coast ocean temperatures by 4 degrees and helped local marine life thrive, experts said.

The phenomenon, called upwelling, has caused the ocean temperature for March to dip from an average of 54 degrees to just 50 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Water temperature “doesn't vary much. So, four degrees is a little out of the ordinary,” said NWS forecaster Ryan Kittell.

Scientists say upwelling - something that hasn't really occurred on the Pacific Coast for about 10 years - is a welcome reversal to the steadily warming ocean temperatures of recent years.

“The ocean is really, really, productive this year,” said Bill Peterson, an oceanographer with the Oregon-based Northwest Fisheries Science Center.

The NFSC monitors ocean activities along the Pacific Coast.

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For the past three years, the coast hasn't experienced upwelling, and ocean temperatures warmed. While there was some upwelling in 2002, which was helpful, the last truly significant upwelling was about 1999, Peterson said.

This year, however, the coast is in the grip of a La Niña effect.

La Nina, which is the opposite of El Niño, occurs when Pacific Ocean waters cool at the equator.

The effect is caused by easterly winds, which bring cold, deep water - and the nutrients associated with deeper waters - to the surface.

Those nutrients include phytoplankton, microscopic plants which are “the base of the (ocean) food chain” and which attract small feeder fish, Peterson said.

“It's really good for the fish and seal and the seabirds. They're going to be all really, really, happy this year,” he added with a laugh.

However, to have a true effect on marine life lost to warmer ocean temperatures, the upwelling must continue for at least another three years, Peterson said.

Meanwhile, some commercial fishermen have said that while business is better than usual, it's not significantly so.

“If it's an upwelling near the shore, it doesn't affect us too much because we can't fish near the shore,” said Mike Cohen, general manager of Olde Port Fisheries in Avila Beach. “The fishing regulations are so strict that you can't do much of anything anyway.”

UC Santa Barbara geography professor Libe Washburn said Central Coast residents may be in for more foggy weather than usuall this summer, as cooler ocean waters evaporate and mix with warmer air.

While upwelling is good for sea creatures and plants, it's not completely bad for surfers.

When accompanied by a swell, the winds associated with the phenomenon can also make for some good surfing conditions.

“Offshore winds make great shaped waves. It makes them tube and curl - it makes them stand up and be more vertical,” said San Luis Bay Surfrider Chairman Jeff Pienack.

However, “the biggest effect (upwelling) has on surfers is that (the water) is really cold,” he added.

Natalie Ragus can be reached at 347-4580 or nragus@santa mariatimes.com.

April 7, 2008