A super El Niño brings life and death to the California coast: ‘Like nothing we’ve ever seen’

Water temperatures are climbing the charts, high tides are swallowing the shoreline and vital parts of the food web that feed ocean diversity are disappearing On a picturesque autumn afternoon last week, the beaches of California’s Monterey Bay were teeming with life and death. A cadre of shorebirds charged and retreated in a synchronized dance with the raging surf. Nearby, the receding tides had deposited lifeless bundles of feathers and bone, tangled in piles of glistening kelp. Swollen sea lion carcasses, their teeth bared in a quiet grimace, dotted the sand as beach picnickers and dog walkers enjoyed the warm, cloudless day. Continue reading...