In 2005, the onset of spring conditions in the physics
of the coastal ocean (lowered sea level, spin-up of
vertically-sheared equatorward coastal jet) came about 50
days later than average off Newport Oregon, on May 24.
There was a further delay of 50 days before the subsurface
upwelled water penetrated into the anomalously stratified
surface layer, becoming most available for biological
activity. The warm anomaly in sea surface temperature
which provided the surface cap was observed at mid-shelf
locations from Washington to central California, but it
ended sooner south of Oregon. Biological impacts of these
delays to several trophic levels have been reported
