Marine heatwaves on the rise
In the northern hemisphere, the summer of 2022 will be one to remember. Japan, the USA, and countries across Europe are just a few that reported heatwaves with record-breaking temperatures. Thanks to climate change, heatwaves are set to increase in intensity and frequency.
Heatwaves, however, aren’t just an atmospheric phenomenon—they also occur in the ocean. In fact, just as over land, climate change seems to be driving an increase in marine heatwaves.
The number of marine heatwaves is increasing
With satellite technology measuring sea surface temperature across the globe, identifying a marine heatwave is relatively straightforward. However, satellites have only been providing this data since the 1980s. To understand how marine heatwaves change over time, we must go back further.
In a recently published study in Environmental Research Letters, student Arno von Kietzell (University of Edinburgh) and supervisors have built up a picture of marine heatwaves as far back as 1850.
…
Read the full story at On the Radar.
