Tokyo [Japan], December 19: Sea levels off the coast of Japan are fluctuating erratically: rising in some areas and falling in others due to the changing course of the Kuroshio Current, directly threatening the country's fishing industry and culinary identity, according to CNN.
Fluctuations in the Black Sea Current
Contrary to the misconception of a calm, flat sea surface, the ocean is actually a collection of water "valleys" shaped by ocean currents. In the waters east of Japan, scientists have observed a strange natural phenomenon caused by the shifting trajectory of the Kuroshio current.
The sudden shift of this ocean current northward by nearly 500 km caused a noticeable rise in sea levels in some areas, while adjacent areas experienced an unusually rapid decline.
This anomalous shift not only distorts the sea surface but also carries in water that is up to 10 degrees Celsius warmer than normal, causing record-breaking ocean warming events and triggering extreme rainfall to hit land.
Experts believe this change in trajectory is a consequence of the expansion of tropical atmospheres due to global climate change, pushing the western lateral ocean currents off their usual paths.
Commenting on this trend, Bo Qiu, a leading expert on the Kuroshio Current at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (USA), warned that the current's position is likely to continue fluctuating constantly. "While it's difficult to predict the future precisely, based on the available data, I see the intensity of its fluctuations increasing," Qiu emphasized.
According to Shusaku Sugimoto, an associate professor at Tohoku University (Sendai, Japan) and the lead researcher, sea surface temperatures off the coast of Sanriku have risen by 6°C and remained high for the past two years. This is an unprecedented level of warming. These "hot springs" are flowing more rapidly, creating steeper surface gradients, making the ocean more volatile and unpredictable than ever before.
The uncertain future of culinary cultures
The shift of the Kuroshio current is not only a scientific issue but also has profound implications, shaking the very foundations of Japanese identity in general and the fisheries industry in particular.
Osamu Nagai, executive director of the Mie Gaiwan Fisheries Cooperative Association, shared: "Catch yields have dropped to less than half of what they were 10 years ago, and we are now only catching about 20 to 30% of the mackerel we used to catch."
Furthermore, the very foundation of Japanese culinary culture is under threat. Professor Yoshihiro Tachibana from Mie University warns that kombu seaweed, the core ingredient for making dashi broth, is in serious decline. He asserts that if this resource runs out, Japan's long-standing dashi culture will face a very serious risk.
These extreme changes are seen as early signs of major future upheavals. "This is a rare opportunity to understand what the ocean will look like in the next 100 years," Sugimoto stated. Decoding the current deformations in the Tohoku Sea is key to predicting the global ocean landscape in the coming century.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
