A hierarchical approach to defining marine heatwaves
Marine heatwaves (MHWs) have been observed around the world and are expected to increase in intensity and frequency under anthropogenic climate change. A variety of impacts have been associated with these anomalous events, including shifts in species ranges, local extinctions and economic impacts on...
Published in: | Progress in Oceanography |
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2016
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Online Access: | https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/b85496fc-9954-4e37-9aa0-9ff53fd046bb https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2015.12.014 https://pureadmin.uhi.ac.uk/ws/files/3530616/Definitions_paper_submitted.pdf https://pure.aber.ac.uk/portal/files/6834954/hierarchical.pdf http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079661116000057 |
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ftuhipublicatio:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/b85496fc-9954-4e37-9aa0-9ff53fd046bb 2024-09-15T18:26:23+00:00 A hierarchical approach to defining marine heatwaves Hobday, Alistair J. Alexander, Lisa V. Perkins, Sarah E. Smale, Dan A. Straub, Sandra C. Oliver, Eric C. J. Benthuysen, Jessica A. Burrows, Michael T. Donat, Markus G. Feng, Ming Holbrook, Neil J. Moore, Pippa J. Scannell, Hillary A. Sen Gupta, Alex Wernberg, Thomas 2016-02-01 application/pdf https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/b85496fc-9954-4e37-9aa0-9ff53fd046bb https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2015.12.014 https://pureadmin.uhi.ac.uk/ws/files/3530616/Definitions_paper_submitted.pdf https://pure.aber.ac.uk/portal/files/6834954/hierarchical.pdf http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079661116000057 eng eng https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/b85496fc-9954-4e37-9aa0-9ff53fd046bb info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Hobday , A J , Alexander , L V , Perkins , S E , Smale , D A , Straub , S C , Oliver , E C J , Benthuysen , J A , Burrows , M T , Donat , M G , Feng , M , Holbrook , N J , Moore , P J , Scannell , H A , Sen Gupta , A & Wernberg , T 2016 , ' A hierarchical approach to defining marine heatwaves ' , Progress in Oceanography , vol. 141 , pp. 227-238 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2015.12.014 article 2016 ftuhipublicatio https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2015.12.014 2024-08-12T23:37:04Z Marine heatwaves (MHWs) have been observed around the world and are expected to increase in intensity and frequency under anthropogenic climate change. A variety of impacts have been associated with these anomalous events, including shifts in species ranges, local extinctions and economic impacts on seafood industries through declines in important fishery species and impacts on aquaculture. Extreme temperatures are increasingly seen as important influences on biological systems, yet a consistent definition of MHWs does not exist. A clear definition will facilitate retrospective comparisons between MHWs, enabling the synthesis and a mechanistic understanding of the role of MHWs in marine ecosystems. Building on research into atmospheric heatwaves, we propose both a general and specific definition for MHWs, based on a hierarchy of metrics that allow for different data sets to be used in identifying MHWs. We generally define a MHW as a prolonged discrete anomalously warm water event that can be described by its duration, intensity, rate of evolution, and spatial extent. Specifically, we consider an anomalously warm event to be a MHW if it lasts for five or more days, with temperatures warmer than the 90th percentile based on a 30-year historical baseline period. This structure provides flexibility with regard to the description of MHWs and transparency in communicating MHWs to a general audience. The use of these metrics is illustrated for three 21st century MHWs; the northern Mediterranean event in 2003, the Western Australia ‘Ningaloo Niño’ in 2011, and the northwest Atlantic event in 2012. We recommend a specific quantitative definition for MHWs to facilitate global comparisons and to advance our understanding of these phenomena. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northwest Atlantic University of the Highlands and Islands: Research Database of UHI Progress in Oceanography 141 227 238 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
University of the Highlands and Islands: Research Database of UHI |
op_collection_id |
ftuhipublicatio |
language |
English |
description |
Marine heatwaves (MHWs) have been observed around the world and are expected to increase in intensity and frequency under anthropogenic climate change. A variety of impacts have been associated with these anomalous events, including shifts in species ranges, local extinctions and economic impacts on seafood industries through declines in important fishery species and impacts on aquaculture. Extreme temperatures are increasingly seen as important influences on biological systems, yet a consistent definition of MHWs does not exist. A clear definition will facilitate retrospective comparisons between MHWs, enabling the synthesis and a mechanistic understanding of the role of MHWs in marine ecosystems. Building on research into atmospheric heatwaves, we propose both a general and specific definition for MHWs, based on a hierarchy of metrics that allow for different data sets to be used in identifying MHWs. We generally define a MHW as a prolonged discrete anomalously warm water event that can be described by its duration, intensity, rate of evolution, and spatial extent. Specifically, we consider an anomalously warm event to be a MHW if it lasts for five or more days, with temperatures warmer than the 90th percentile based on a 30-year historical baseline period. This structure provides flexibility with regard to the description of MHWs and transparency in communicating MHWs to a general audience. The use of these metrics is illustrated for three 21st century MHWs; the northern Mediterranean event in 2003, the Western Australia ‘Ningaloo Niño’ in 2011, and the northwest Atlantic event in 2012. We recommend a specific quantitative definition for MHWs to facilitate global comparisons and to advance our understanding of these phenomena. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hobday, Alistair J. Alexander, Lisa V. Perkins, Sarah E. Smale, Dan A. Straub, Sandra C. Oliver, Eric C. J. Benthuysen, Jessica A. Burrows, Michael T. Donat, Markus G. Feng, Ming Holbrook, Neil J. Moore, Pippa J. Scannell, Hillary A. Sen Gupta, Alex Wernberg, Thomas |
spellingShingle |
Hobday, Alistair J. Alexander, Lisa V. Perkins, Sarah E. Smale, Dan A. Straub, Sandra C. Oliver, Eric C. J. Benthuysen, Jessica A. Burrows, Michael T. Donat, Markus G. Feng, Ming Holbrook, Neil J. Moore, Pippa J. Scannell, Hillary A. Sen Gupta, Alex Wernberg, Thomas A hierarchical approach to defining marine heatwaves |
author_facet |
Hobday, Alistair J. Alexander, Lisa V. Perkins, Sarah E. Smale, Dan A. Straub, Sandra C. Oliver, Eric C. J. Benthuysen, Jessica A. Burrows, Michael T. Donat, Markus G. Feng, Ming Holbrook, Neil J. Moore, Pippa J. Scannell, Hillary A. Sen Gupta, Alex Wernberg, Thomas |
author_sort |
Hobday, Alistair J. |
title |
A hierarchical approach to defining marine heatwaves |
title_short |
A hierarchical approach to defining marine heatwaves |
title_full |
A hierarchical approach to defining marine heatwaves |
title_fullStr |
A hierarchical approach to defining marine heatwaves |
title_full_unstemmed |
A hierarchical approach to defining marine heatwaves |
title_sort |
hierarchical approach to defining marine heatwaves |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/b85496fc-9954-4e37-9aa0-9ff53fd046bb https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2015.12.014 https://pureadmin.uhi.ac.uk/ws/files/3530616/Definitions_paper_submitted.pdf https://pure.aber.ac.uk/portal/files/6834954/hierarchical.pdf http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079661116000057 |
genre |
Northwest Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Northwest Atlantic |
op_source |
Hobday , A J , Alexander , L V , Perkins , S E , Smale , D A , Straub , S C , Oliver , E C J , Benthuysen , J A , Burrows , M T , Donat , M G , Feng , M , Holbrook , N J , Moore , P J , Scannell , H A , Sen Gupta , A & Wernberg , T 2016 , ' A hierarchical approach to defining marine heatwaves ' , Progress in Oceanography , vol. 141 , pp. 227-238 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2015.12.014 |
op_relation |
https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/b85496fc-9954-4e37-9aa0-9ff53fd046bb |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2015.12.014 |
container_title |
Progress in Oceanography |
container_volume |
141 |
container_start_page |
227 |
op_container_end_page |
238 |
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1810466869182726144 |