Prolonged Marine Heatwaves in the Arctic: 1982-2020

Studies have indicated that marine heatwaves (MHWs) have had severe impacts on the marine ecosystem in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, but there have been few studies focused on MHWs in the Arctic. On the other hand, amplified rapid warming in the Arctic region makes it a hotspot strategically and economically worldwide. In this study, we documented that the average intensity of MHWs in the Arctic was comparable with that in the other regions of the global oceans. The annual intensity, frequency, duration, and areal coverage of MHWs have increased significantly in recent decades. The increase of the annual duration is mainly owing to the postponed end time, thus the prolonged periods, of the MHW seasons. Our analysis indicates that the increasing trends of the annual intensity, frequency, duration, and areal coverage in the Arctic are closely associated with the increasing surface air temperature and decreasing sea-ice concentration under the global warming environment. These features are robust across three different sea surface temperature (SST) products and using different MHW criteria.

Automated summary

Studies have shown that marine heatwaves in the Arctic are comparable with other regions globally, and in recent decades, there has been a significant increase in their intensity, frequency, duration, and areal coverage. These changes are closely related to increasing surface air temperature and decreasing sea-ice concentration under the global warming environment.