Why so poor?
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monterino
I know this region has a lot of kelp, but the kelp is sooooo small and the whole image is soooo blurry. I'll gladly rent a plane and spend a week getting MUCH better photos from San Diego to Eureka!!!
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mistyfriday
in response to monterino's comment.
Did you notice the date? The image was taken 2/21/2002? This kelp is all new to me, but from looking at dates I get the idea the summertime is when there are larger areas than other months of the year. Of course I could be wrong. But the ones I saw with large amts. were late summer in the CA images.
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kyleccav
scientist
Good eye mistyfriday! We do see a strong seasonal cycle in kelp biomass, especially in central/northern California. Kelp generally reaches a maximum in late summer. A lot of kelp is then lost during the winter when storms cause large wave events, which rips the kelp out from the seafloor. The kelp then recovers during the spring/summer. That seasonal cycle does vary a lot by region though. That is one of the things we are investigating with this project!
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yshish
why does the kelp grow only close to the coast? what does it need there for growing?
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mistyfriday
I am no scientist, but I imagine it needs the sunlight for photosynthesis. Also it needs to anchor into the sea and branch as it grows up to 1-2 feet/day so it needs a place with the sun, right depth and temperature.
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yshish
thank you @mistyfriday, i imagine nearly the same as you:) but i wonder (and would appreciate) more detailed answer, ideally from a scientist.
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ajhaupt
scientist, translator
mistyfriday is right! The maximum depth of kelps is limited by light penetration for photosynthesis, so they are most often found in shallower waters along the coast. They also have a holdfast that they use to attach to the bottom and so require rocky or hard substrate. Temperature is also important: they prefer cooler temperatures. The other thing that kelps need since they grow so fast are high levels of nutrients, which is often correlated with colder temperatures.
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yshish
thank you very much @ajhaupt ,what about currents, could they be a problem for them?
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ajhaupt
scientist, translator
Hi yshish. Different types of kelps deal with currents and wave action differently. In the California images, we are mainly targeting Macrocystis pyrifera, which generally prefers calmer waters. However, in areas of really high wave exposure and surge another kelp called Nereocystis leutkeana will out compete Macrocystis because it can deal with high wave exposure better than Macrocystis.
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yshish
ok, thanks for your answers.
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