A marine heatwave (abbreviated as MHW) is a period of abnormally high ocean temperatures relative to the average seasonal temperature in a particular marine region. [1] Marine heatwaves are caused by a variety of factors, including shorter term weather phenomena such as fronts, intraseasonal events (30- to 90-days) , annual, or decadal (10-year) modes like El Niño events, and longer term changes like climate change. [2] [3] [4] Marine heatwaves can have biological impacts on ecosystems [5] at individual, population, and community levels. [6] MHWs have led to severe biodiversity changes such as coral bleaching, sea star wasting disease, [7] [8] harmful algal blooms, [9] and mass mortality of benthic communities. [10] Unlike heatwaves on land, marine heatwaves can extend for millions of square kilometers, persist for weeks to months or even years, and occur at subsurface levels. [11] [12] [13] [14]
Major marine heatwave events such as Great Barrier Reef 2002, [15] Mediterranean 2003, [10] Northwest Atlantic 2012, [2] [16] and Northeast Pacific 2013-2016 [17] [18] have had drastic and long-term impacts on the oceanographic and biological conditions in those areas. [10] [19] [9] "The term marine heatwave, referring to a discrete period of unusually high seawater temperatures, was coined following an unprecedented warming event off the west coast of Australia in the austral summer of 2011." [20]
The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report stated in 2022 that "marine heatwaves are more frequent [...], more intense and longer [...] since the 1980s, and since at least 2006 very likely attributable to anthropogenic climate change". [21] : 381 This confirms earlier findings, for example in the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate from 2019 which stated that it is "virtually certain" that the global ocean has absorbed more than 90% of the excess heat in our climate systems, the rate of ocean warming has doubled, and marine heatwave events have doubled in frequency since 1982. [22]
The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report defines marine heatwave as follows: "A period during which water temperature is abnormally warm for the time of the year relative to historical temperatures, with that extreme warmth persisting for days to months. The phenomenon can manifest in any place in the ocean and at scales of up to thousands of kilometres." [23]
Another publication defined it as follows: an anomalously warm event is a marine heatwave "if it lasts for five or more days, with temperatures warmer than the 90th percentile based on a 30-year historical baseline period". [1]
The quantitative and qualitative categorization of marine heatwaves establishes a naming system, typology, and characteristics for marine heatwave events. [1] [24] The naming system is applied by location and year: for example Mediterranean 2003. [24] [10] This allows researchers to compare the drivers and characteristics of each event, geographical and historical trends of marine heatwaves, and easily communicate marine heatwave events as they occur in real-time. [24]
The categorization system is on a scale from 1 to 4. [24] Category 1 is a moderate event, Category 2 is a strong event, Category 3 is a severe event, and Category 4 is an extreme event. The category applied to each event in real-time is defined primarily by sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA), but over time it comes to include typology and characteristics. [24]
The types of marine heatwaves are symmetric, slow onset, fast onset, low intensity, and high intensity. [1] Marine heatwave events may have multiple categories such as slow onset, high intensity. The characteristics of marine heatwave events include duration, intensity (max, average, cumulative), onset rate, decline rate, region, and frequency. [1]
While marine heat waves have been studied at the sea surface for more than a decade, they can also occur at the sea floor. [25]
The drivers for marine heatwave events can be broken into local processes, teleconnection processes, and regional climate patterns. [2] [3] [4] Two quantitative measurements of these drivers have been proposed to identify marine heatwave, mean sea surface temperature and sea surface temperature variability. [24] [2] [4]
At the local level marine heatwave events are dominated by ocean advection, air-sea fluxes, thermocline stability, and wind stress. [2] Teleconnection processes refer to climate and weather patterns that connect geographically distant areas. [26] For marine heatwave, the teleconnection process that play a dominant role are atmospheric blocking/subsidence, jet-stream position, oceanic kelvin waves, regional wind stress, warm surface air temperature, and seasonal climate oscillations. These processes contribute to regional warming trends that disproportionately effect Western boundary currents. [2]
Regional climate patterns such as interdecadal oscillations like El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) have contributed to marine heatwave events such as "The Blob" in the Northeastern Pacific. [27]
Drivers that operate on the scale of biogeographical realms or the Earth as a whole are Decadal oscillations, like Pacific Decadal Oscillations (PDO), and anthropogenic ocean warming due to climate change. [2] [4] [22]
Ocean areas of carbon sinks in the mid-latitudes of both hemispheres and carbon outgassing areas in upwelling regions of the tropical Pacific have been identified as places where persistent marine heatwaves occur; the air-sea gas exchange is being studied in these areas. [28]
Scientists predict that the frequency, duration, scale (or area) and intensity of marine heatwaves will continue to increase. [29] : 1227 This is because sea surface temperatures will continue to increase with global warming, and therefore the frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves will also increase. The extent of ocean warming depends on emission scenarios, and thus humans' climate change mitigation efforts. Simply put, the more greenhouse gas emissions (or the less mitigation), the more the sea surface temperature will rise. Scientists have calculated this as follows: there would be a relatively small (but still significant) increase of 0.86 °C in the average sea surface temperature for the low emissions scenario (called SSP1-2.6). But for the high emissions scenario (called SSP5-8.5) the temperature increase would be as high as 2.89 °C. [29] : 393
The prediction for marine heatwaves is that they may become "four times more frequent in 2081–2100 compared to 1995–2014" under the lower emissions scenario, or eight times more frequent under the higher emissions scenario. [29] : 1214 The emissions scenarios are called SSP for Shared Socioeconomic Pathways. A mathematical model called CMIP6 is used for these predictions. The predictions are for the average of the future period (years 2081 to 2100) compared to the average of the past period (years 1995 to 2014). [29] : 1227
Many species already experience these temperature shifts during the course of marine heatwave events. [1] [24] There are many increased risk factors and health impacts to coastal and inland communities as global average temperature and extreme heat events increase. [30]
Sea surface temperatures have been recorded since 1904 in Port Erin, UK [4] and measurements continue through global organizations such as NOAA, NASA, and many more. Events can be identified from 1925 till present day. [4] The list below is not a complete representation of all marine heatwave events that have ever been recorded.
Name | Category | Duration (days) | Intensity (°C) | Area(Mkm2) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mediterranean 1999 | 1 | 8 | 1.9 | NA | [24] [2] [10] |
Mediterranean 2003 | 2 | 10 | 5.5 | 0.5 | [24] [2] [10] |
Mediterranean 2003 | 2 | 28 | 4.6 | 1.2 | [24] [2] [10] |
Mediterranean 2006 | 2 | 33 | 4.0 | NA | [24] [2] [10] |
Western Australia 1999 | 3 | 132 | 2.1 | NA | [24] [2] [31] |
Western Australia 2011 | 4 | 66 | 4.9 | 0.95 | [24] [2] [31] |
Great Barrier Reef 2016 | 2 | 55 | 4.0 | 2.6 | [24] [2] [15] |
Tasman Sea 2015 | 2 | 252 | 2.7 | NA | [24] [2] |
Northwest Atlantic 2012 | 3 | 132 | 4.3 | 0.1–0.3 | [24] [2] [16] [32] |
Northeast Pacific 2015 ("The Blob") | 3 | 711 | 2.6 | 4.5–11.7 | [5] [17] [18] |
Santa Barbara 2015 | 3 | 93 | 5.1 | NA | |
Southern California Bight 2018 | 3 | 44 | 3.9 | NA | [33] |
Northeastern Atlantic 2023 | 5 | 30 | 4.0-5.0 | NA | [34] |
Changes in the thermal environment of terrestrial and marine organisms can have drastic effects on their health and well-being. [19] [30] Marine heatwave events have been shown to increase habitat degradation, [35] [36] change species range dispersion, [19] complicate management of environmentally and economically important fisheries, [17] contribute to mass mortalities of species, [10] [9] [7] and in general reshape ecosystems. [5] [15] [37]
Habitat degradation occurs through alterations of the thermal environment and subsequent restructuring and sometimes complete loss of biogenic habitats such as seagrass beds, corals, and kelp forests. [35] [36] These habitats contain a significant proportion of the oceans biodiversity. [19] Changes in ocean current systems and local thermal environments have shifted many tropical species' range northward while temperate species have lost their southern limits. Large range shifts along with outbreaks of toxic algal blooms has impacted many species across taxa. [9] Management of these affected species becomes increasingly difficult as they migrate across management boundaries and the food web dynamics shift.
Increases in sea surface temperature have been linked to a decline in species abundance such as the mass mortality of 25 benthic species in the Mediterranean in 2003, sea star wasting disease, and coral bleaching events. [10] [19] [7] Climate change-related exceptional marine heatwaves in the Mediterranean Sea during 2015–2019 resulted in widespread mass sealife die-offs in five consecutive years. [38] Repeated marine heatwaves in the Northest Pacific led to dramatic changes in animal abundances, predator-prey relationships, and energy flux throughout the ecosystem. [5] The impact of more frequent and prolonged marine heatwave events will have drastic implications for the distribution of species. [22]
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: 6th IPCC report.(April 2022) |
Extreme bleaching events are directly linked with climate-induced phenomena that increase ocean temperature, such as El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). [39] The warming ocean surface waters can lead to bleaching of corals which can cause serious damage and coral death. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report in 2022 found that: "Since the early 1980s, the frequency and severity of mass coral bleaching events have increased sharply worldwide". [40] : 416 Coral reefs, as well as other shelf-sea ecosystems, such as rocky shores, kelp forests, seagrasses, and mangroves, have recently undergone mass mortalities from marine heatwaves. [40] : 381 It is expected that many coral reefs will "undergo irreversible phase shifts due to marine heatwaves with global warming levels >1.5°C". [40] : 382
This problem was already identified in 2007 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as the greatest threat to the world's reef systems. [41] [42]
The Great Barrier Reef experienced its first major bleaching event in 1998. Since then, bleaching events have increased in frequency, with three events occurring in the years 2016–2020. [43] Bleaching is predicted to occur three times a decade on the Great Barrier Reef if warming is kept to 1.5 °C, increasing every other year to 2 °C. [44]
With the increase of coral bleaching events worldwide, National Geographic noted in 2017, "In the past three years, 25 reefs—which comprise three-fourths of the world's reef systems—experienced severe bleaching events in what scientists concluded was the worst-ever sequence of bleachings to date." [45]
In a study conducted on the Hawaiian mushroom coral Lobactis scutaria , researchers discovered that higher temperatures and elevated levels of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) had a detrimental impact on its reproductive physiology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the survival of reef-building corals in their natural habitat, as coral reproduction is being hindered by the effects of climate change. [46]Research on how marine heatwaves influence atmospheric conditions is emerging. Marine heatwaves in the tropical Indian Ocean are found to result in dry conditions over the central Indian subcontinent. [48] At the same time, there is an increase in rainfall over south peninsular India in response to marine heatwaves in the northern Bay of Bengal. These changes are in response to the modulation of the monsoon winds by the marine heatwaves.
To address the root cause of more frequent and more intense marine heatwaves, [21] : 416 climate change mitigation methods are needed to curb the increase in global temperature and in ocean temperatures.
Better forecasts of marine heatwaves and improved monitoring can also help to reduce impacts of these heatwaves. [21] : 417
Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
Coral bleaching is the process when corals become white due to loss of symbiotic algae and photosynthetic pigments. This loss of pigment can be caused by various stressors, such as changes in temperature, light, or nutrients. Bleaching occurs when coral polyps expel the zooxanthellae that live inside their tissue, causing the coral to turn white. The zooxanthellae are photosynthetic, and as the water temperature rises, they begin to produce reactive oxygen species. This is toxic to the coral, so the coral expels the zooxanthellae. Since the zooxanthellae produce the majority of coral colouration, the coral tissue becomes transparent, revealing the coral skeleton made of calcium carbonate. Most bleached corals appear bright white, but some are blue, yellow, or pink due to pigment proteins in the coral.
Effects of climate change are well documented and growing for Earth's natural environment and human societies. Changes to the climate system include an overall warming trend, changes to precipitation patterns, and more extreme weather. As the climate changes it impacts the natural environment with effects such as more intense forest fires, thawing permafrost, and desertification. These changes can profoundly impact ecosystems and societies, and can become irreversible once tipping points are crossed.
Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's ocean. Between 1950 and 2020, the average pH of the ocean surface fell from approximately 8.15 to 8.05. Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are the primary cause of ocean acidification, with atmospheric carbon dioxide levels exceeding 410 ppm. CO2 from the atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans. This chemical reaction produces carbonic acid which dissociates into a bicarbonate ion and a hydrogen ion. The presence of free hydrogen ions lowers the pH of the ocean, increasing acidity. Marine calcifying organisms, such as mollusks and corals, are especially vulnerable because they rely on calcium carbonate to build shells and skeletons.
Marine ecosystems are the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems and exist in waters that have a high salt content. These systems contrast with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine waters cover more than 70% of the surface of the Earth and account for more than 97% of Earth's water supply and 90% of habitable space on Earth. Seawater has an average salinity of 35 parts per thousand of water. Actual salinity varies among different marine ecosystems. Marine ecosystems can be divided into many zones depending upon water depth and shoreline features. The oceanic zone is the vast open part of the ocean where animals such as whales, sharks, and tuna live. The benthic zone consists of substrates below water where many invertebrates live. The intertidal zone is the area between high and low tides. Other near-shore (neritic) zones can include mudflats, seagrass meadows, mangroves, rocky intertidal systems, salt marshes, coral reefs, lagoons. In the deep water, hydrothermal vents may occur where chemosynthetic sulfur bacteria form the base of the food web.
Fisheries are affected by climate change in many ways: marine aquatic ecosystems are being affected by rising ocean temperatures, ocean acidification and ocean deoxygenation, while freshwater ecosystems are being impacted by changes in water temperature, water flow, and fish habitat loss. These effects vary in the context of each fishery. Climate change is modifying fish distributions and the productivity of marine and freshwater species. Climate change is expected to lead to significant changes in the availability and trade of fish products. The geopolitical and economic consequences will be significant, especially for the countries most dependent on the sector. The biggest decreases in maximum catch potential can be expected in the tropics, mostly in the South Pacific regions.
Human activities have substantial impact on coral reefs, contributing to their worldwide decline.[1] Damaging activities encompass coral mining, pollution, overfishing, blast fishing, as well as the excavation of canals and access points to islands and bays. Additional threats comprise disease, destructive fishing practices, and the warming of oceans.[2] Furthermore, the ocean's function as a carbon dioxide sink, alterations in the atmosphere, ultraviolet light, ocean acidification, viral infections, the repercussions of dust storms transporting agents to distant reefs, pollutants, and algal blooms represent some of the factors exerting influence on coral reefs. Importantly, the jeopardy faced by coral reefs extends far beyond coastal regions. The ramifications of climate change, notably global warming, induce an elevation in ocean temperatures that triggers coral bleaching—a potentially lethal phenomenon for coral ecosystems.
The resilience of coral reefs is the biological ability of coral reefs to recover from natural and anthropogenic disturbances such as storms and bleaching episodes. Resilience refers to the ability of biological or social systems to overcome pressures and stresses by maintaining key functions through resisting or adapting to change. Reef resistance measures how well coral reefs tolerate changes in ocean chemistry, sea level, and sea surface temperature. Reef resistance and resilience are important factors in coral reef recovery from the effects of ocean acidification. Natural reef resilience can be used as a recovery model for coral reefs and an opportunity for management in marine protected areas (MPAs).
There are many effects of climate change on oceans. One of the main ones is an increase in ocean temperatures. More frequent marine heatwaves are linked to this. The rising temperature contributes to a rise in sea levels due to melting ice sheets. Other effects on oceans include sea ice decline, reducing pH values and oxygen levels, as well as increased ocean stratification. All this can lead to changes of ocean currents, for example a weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The main root cause of these changes are the emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities, mainly burning of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide and methane are examples of greenhouse gases. The additional greenhouse effect leads to ocean warming because the ocean takes up most of the additional heat in the climate system. The ocean also absorbs some of the extra carbon dioxide that is in the atmosphere. This causes the pH value of the seawater to drop. Scientists estimate that the ocean absorbs about 25% of all human-caused CO2 emissions.
In earth science, global surface temperature is calculated by averaging the temperatures over sea and land.
A mesophotic coral reef or mesophotic coral ecosystem (MCE), originally from the Latin word meso (meaning middle) and photic (meaning light), is characterized by the presence of both light-dependent coral and algae, and organisms that can be found in water with low light penetration. Mesophotic coral ecosystems occur at depths beyond those typically associated with coral reefs as the mesophotic ranges from brightly lit to some areas where light does not reach. Mesophotic coral ecosystem (MCEs) is a new, widely-adopted term used to refer to mesophotic coral reefs, as opposed to other similar terms like "deep coral reef communities" and "twilight zone", since those terms sometimes are confused due to their unclear, interchangeable nature. Many species of fish and corals are endemic to the MCEs making these ecosystems a crucial component in maintaining global diversity. Recently, there has been increased focus on the MCEs as these reefs are a crucial part of the coral reef systems serving as a potential refuge area for shallow coral reef taxa such as coral and sponges. Advances in recent technologies such as remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have enabled humans to conduct further research on these ecosystems and monitor these marine environments.
The Blob is a large mass of relatively warm water in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of North America that was first detected in late 2013 and continued to spread throughout 2014 and 2015. It is an example of a marine heatwave. Sea surface temperatures indicated that the Blob persisted into 2016, but it was initially thought to have dissipated later that year.
The effects of climate change on small island countries are affecting people in coastal areas through sea level rise, increasing heavy rain events, tropical cyclones and storm surges. These effects of climate change threaten the existence of many island countries, their peoples and cultures. They also alter ecosystems and natural environments in those countries. Small island developing states (SIDS) are a heterogenous group of countries but many of them are particularly at risk to climate change. Those countries have been quite vocal in calling attention to the challenges they face from climate change. For example, the Maldives and nations of the Caribbean and Pacific Islands are already experiencing considerable impacts of climate change. It is critical for them to implement climate change adaptation measures fast.
Ocean acidification threatens the Great Barrier Reef by reducing the viability and strength of coral reefs. The Great Barrier Reef, considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world and a biodiversity hotspot, is located in Australia. Similar to other coral reefs, it is experiencing degradation due to ocean acidification. Ocean acidification results from a rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide, which is taken up by the ocean. This process can increase sea surface temperature, decrease aragonite, and lower the pH of the ocean. The more humanity consumes fossil fuels, the more the ocean absorbs released CO₂, furthering ocean acidification.
Human activities affect marine life and marine habitats through overfishing, habitat loss, the introduction of invasive species, ocean pollution, ocean acidification and ocean warming. These impact marine ecosystems and food webs and may result in consequences as yet unrecognised for the biodiversity and continuation of marine life forms.
A marine coastal ecosystem is a marine ecosystem which occurs where the land meets the ocean. Marine coastal ecosystems include many very different types of marine habitats, each with their own characteristics and species composition. They are characterized by high levels of biodiversity and productivity.
Joan Ann ("Joanie") Kleypas is a marine scientist known for her work on the impact of ocean acidification and climate change on coral reefs, and for advancing solutions to environmental problems caused by climate change.
Janice Lough is a climate scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) at James Cook University, researching climate change, and impacts of temperature and elevated CO2 on coral reefs. She was elected to the Australian Academy of Science in 2022 for her research in climate change, coral reefs, and developing high resolution environmental and growth histories from corals, particularly the Great Barrier Reef.
Climate change effects on tropical regions includes changes in marine ecosystems, human livelihoods, biodiversity, degradation of tropical rainforests and effects the environmental stability in these areas. Climate change is characterized by alterations in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events. Tropical areas, located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, are known for their warm temperatures, high biodiversity, and distinct ecosystems, including rainforests, coral reefs, and mangroves.