We are starting to see the influence of the warmer waters off the B.C. coast (and yet apparently the Kelvin wave has not reached us) --unprecedented numbers of Brown Pelicans have been observed off the west coast of Vancouver Is. (160 in one group). Just to the south of us, a Brown Booby was found on Protection Island (Washington) on or about Oct. 19th. I have been conducting at-sea surveys every 3-4 months along the same transect line (out to Station Papa if you have heard of it) since May 1996 and I am hoping that (providing the funds continue) the surveys will document the response of seabirds to the "arrival" and the "ebbing" of this major El Nino event.--Ken Morgan morgank@ios.bc.ca

Back to The 1997 El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO 97-98)