Summer's here!
SURF:
It's about time. Last weekend was a trip. Lots of clouds and W wind resulted in our water temps dropping like a rock. July 15th saw water temps at 72 degrees and then drop last weekend a full 15 degrees to 57. Ouch. Luckily the sun has been out the past few days and the wind has been SSW, helping raise temps back to a manageable 68. But enough of the negativity- let's talk about the good stuff.
FORECAST:
For those of you lucky enough to have Monday off and make it a big 4 day weekend for the 4th, we'll have leftover smaller SW on Monday and peaking NW windswell for more chest high sets. The 4th and 5th back off to the waist high+ range from the combo swells then the NW windswell picks up again towards Thursday.
WEATHER:
Finally back to where we should be for summer. Night and morning low clouds at the coast and sunny afternoons. Temps will be mid-70's and we'll stay that way for most of next week. Models show a slight chance for thunderstorms in the deserts/mountains next weekend but that's the only real excitement around here for the foreseeable future. Speaking of thunderstorms, with the lack of a real El Nino in our waters (as compared to the '15 and '16 summers), we haven't had any real hurricanes to track. We've had 4 named storms off Mainland Mexico and only 1 (Dora) hit minimal hurricane strength. So far a slow start to the season.
BEST BET:
Saturday with peaking SW/NW or late next week with better SW.
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
If you’ve been an avid reader of the THE Surf Report over the years (and I know who you are), you probably remember my riveting expose' of the Megalodon - the world’s biggest carnivorous predator. You think those puny 10’ Great Whites off our beaches lately are scary? How about a 60’ Megalodon?! Now I have your attention. Thankfully for us, it’s not around anymore. New research may have found the culprit of it's extinction. I’ll let Newsweek explain:
The biggest shark to have ever lived was wiped out during a previously unknown global extinction event that saw 36 percent of the world’s marine megafauna disappear.
Carcharocles megalodon could reach up to 60 feet in length and had jaws measuring 9 feet wide. It lived from 23 million years ago up until the end of the Pliocene Epoch, around 2.6 million years ago. What caused its extinction has been the matter of debate for many years—shifting environmental conditions, a decline in prey and the emergence of new marine predators all appear to have played a role.
However, in a study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, scientists found the demise of the megalodon was part of a larger extinction event that affected huge swaths of marine life during the Pliocene (5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago).
The end of the Pliocene saw huge changes to the world's climate. Global temperatures and sea levels fell dramatically, leading to widespread changes to Earth’s flora and fauna. In the ocean, many individual species were known to have gone extinct as others began to emerge. But to what extent this was happening was not known.
Scientists led by Catalina Pimiento from Switzerland’s University of Zurich, carried out a meta-analysis in which they gathered all of the published fossil records from this period. “Individual extinct ions were widely known from the paleontological literature,” she tells Newsweek. “We found they were part of a global extinction event.”
The researchers also looked at the marine megafauna from the Pleistocene Epoch, which followed the Pliocene. By doing this, they were able to show which species were being lost and which were emerging at this time.
Marine mammals were found to have lost 55 percent of their diversity. Up to 43 percent of sea turtle species disappeared, while 35 percent of seabirds and 9 percent of sharks went extinct.
“This extinction took place in both coastal and oceanic species,” Pimiento says. “We just focused on coastal species to assess the effects of the extinction on functional diversity, and to evaluate if the loss of coastal areas played a role.”
Findings showed that seven functional entities—groups of animals with unique traits—went extinct from coastal ecosystems, which led to the decline of species throughout. “We found that changes in sea level caused by glaciations resulted in the loss of coastal areas and hypothesize that caused this extinction,” Pimiento says.
In a statement, she says, “Our models have demonstrated that warm-blooded animals in particular were more likely to become extinct. For example, species of sea cows and baleen whales, as well as the giant shark C. megalodon, disappeared. This study shows that marine megafauna were far more vulnerable to global environmental changes in the recent geological past than had previously been assumed.”
The team now plans to look at how their findings can help provide insight on the extinctions of modern megafauna, like whales and seals. “Our study cautions that as anthropogenic climate change accelerates and triggers regime shifts in coastal ecosystems, the potential consequences for marine megafauna should not be underestimated,” the researchers concluded.
BEST OF THE BLOG:
The water has finally warmed up, we have a little combo swell, and the sun is out. No better time for a Surf Meeting! Haven't been to one? You're missing out. Come on down to George's tomorrow (Friday, June 30th) and be part of this community you love. Network with other surfers, find out how we support local businesses, learn about our charitable work, grab some breakfast, and try out the latest SUPERbrand boards. EPK Collection will also be making an appearance with free surf posters for all. Hosted by the North County Board Meeting, look for the green tent just south of the Chart House in Cardiff. From 7-9 AM, it's a great way to start a long July 4th weekend. Thanks for the support and we'll see you tomorrow!
PIC OF THE WEEK:
Always love coming across shots like this. Where could it be? Maybe Orange County due to the exposed rocks in the line-up? Looks empty though- maybe West Oz? Red dirt gives us a better clue- could be Hawaii? Only one who knows is Aussie photographer Ed Sloane. Get more clues at his website here.
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
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