Analysis of sea temperatures using a four-dimensional spatio-temporal framework has revealed a great number of marine heatwaves occurring globally below the sea surface. These extreme events, which threaten the ecologically important epipelagic zone, have occurred increasingly frequently during the past three decades owing to ocean warming.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Smale, D. A. et al. Marine heatwaves threaten global biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services. Nat. Clim. Change 9, 306–312 (2019). This paper reports on the threat of MHWs to global biodiversity.
Wernberg, T. et al. An extreme climatic event alters marine ecosystem structure in a global biodiversity hotspot. Nat. Clim. Change 3, 78–82 (2013). This paper reports altered ecosystem structure and function as a result of extreme climatic events.
Oliver, E. C. J. et al. Longer and more frequent marine heatwaves over the past century. Nat. Commun. 9, 1324 (2018). This paper reports more frequent and longer MHWs over the past half century.
Hobday, A. J. et al. A hierarchical approach to defining marine heatwaves. Prog. Oceanogr. 141, 227–238 (2016). This paper introduces the pointwise MHW definition based on sea surface temperature time series.
Cheng, L. et al. Improved estimates of ocean heat content from 1960 to 2015. Sci. Adv. 3, e1601545 (2017). This paper reports estimates of ocean warming over the past half century, concurrent with increased greenhouse gas emissions.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This is a summary of: Sun, D. et al. Frequent marine heatwaves hidden below the surface of the global ocean. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01325-w (2023).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Marine heatwaves are occurring globally below the sea surface with increasing frequency. Nat. Geosci. 16, 1082–1083 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01339-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01339-4