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Marine heatwaves are occurring globally below the sea surface with increasing frequency

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.

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Fig. 1: Geographic distribution of surface, subsurface and mixed marine heatwaves (MHWs).

References

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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).

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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

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