Marine Heatwaves and Cold Spells Accompanied by Mesoscale Eddies Globally
Marine heatwaves (MHWs) and Marine cold spells (MCSs) are oceanic events characterized by prolonged periods of anomalously warm or cold sea surface temperatures, which pose significant ecological and socio-economic threats on a global scale. These extreme temperature events exhibit an asymmetric tre...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| author | Sifan Su Yu-Xuan Fu Wenjin Sun Jihai Dong |
| author_facet | Sifan Su Yu-Xuan Fu Wenjin Sun Jihai Dong |
| author_sort | Sifan Su |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Marine heatwaves (MHWs) and Marine cold spells (MCSs) are oceanic events characterized by prolonged periods of anomalously warm or cold sea surface temperatures, which pose significant ecological and socio-economic threats on a global scale. These extreme temperature events exhibit an asymmetric trend under ongoing climate change in recent decades: MHWs have increased markedly in both frequency and intensity, whereas MCSs have shown an overall decline. Among the potential drivers, mesoscale eddies play a critical role in modulating sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs). Anticyclonic eddies (AEs) promote downwelling, generating positive SSTAs that potentially favor MHWs, while cyclonic eddies (CEs) enhance upwelling and negative anomalies that are potentially related to MCSs. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between mesoscale eddies and MHWs/MCSs using global satellite-derived datasets from 2010 to 2019. By analyzing the spatial overlap and intensity correlation between eddies and MHWs/MCSs, it is found that 12.2% of MHWs are accompanied by AEs, and 13.4% of MCSs by CEs, with a high degree of spatial containment where approximately 90.2% of MHW events are found within the mean eddy contour of AEs, and about 93.1% of MCS events fall inside the mean eddy contour of CEs. Stronger eddies tend to be associated with more intense MHWs/MCSs. This study provides new insights into the role of mesoscale eddies in regulating extreme oceanic temperature events, offering valuable information for future predictions in the context of climate change. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-778ccea3105847d7924d8d8744ee7a65 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj-art-778ccea3105847d7924d8d8744ee7a652025-08-20T03:56:45ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-07-011714246810.3390/rs17142468Marine Heatwaves and Cold Spells Accompanied by Mesoscale Eddies GloballySifan Su0Yu-Xuan Fu1Wenjin Sun2Jihai Dong3State Key Laboratory of Climate System Prediction and Risk Management, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Climate System Prediction and Risk Management, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Climate System Prediction and Risk Management, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Climate System Prediction and Risk Management, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, ChinaMarine heatwaves (MHWs) and Marine cold spells (MCSs) are oceanic events characterized by prolonged periods of anomalously warm or cold sea surface temperatures, which pose significant ecological and socio-economic threats on a global scale. These extreme temperature events exhibit an asymmetric trend under ongoing climate change in recent decades: MHWs have increased markedly in both frequency and intensity, whereas MCSs have shown an overall decline. Among the potential drivers, mesoscale eddies play a critical role in modulating sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs). Anticyclonic eddies (AEs) promote downwelling, generating positive SSTAs that potentially favor MHWs, while cyclonic eddies (CEs) enhance upwelling and negative anomalies that are potentially related to MCSs. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between mesoscale eddies and MHWs/MCSs using global satellite-derived datasets from 2010 to 2019. By analyzing the spatial overlap and intensity correlation between eddies and MHWs/MCSs, it is found that 12.2% of MHWs are accompanied by AEs, and 13.4% of MCSs by CEs, with a high degree of spatial containment where approximately 90.2% of MHW events are found within the mean eddy contour of AEs, and about 93.1% of MCS events fall inside the mean eddy contour of CEs. Stronger eddies tend to be associated with more intense MHWs/MCSs. This study provides new insights into the role of mesoscale eddies in regulating extreme oceanic temperature events, offering valuable information for future predictions in the context of climate change.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/14/2468marine heatwavesmarine cold spellsanticyclonic eddiescyclonic eddies |
| spellingShingle | Sifan Su Yu-Xuan Fu Wenjin Sun Jihai Dong Marine Heatwaves and Cold Spells Accompanied by Mesoscale Eddies Globally Remote Sensing marine heatwaves marine cold spells anticyclonic eddies cyclonic eddies |
| title | Marine Heatwaves and Cold Spells Accompanied by Mesoscale Eddies Globally |
| title_full | Marine Heatwaves and Cold Spells Accompanied by Mesoscale Eddies Globally |
| title_fullStr | Marine Heatwaves and Cold Spells Accompanied by Mesoscale Eddies Globally |
| title_full_unstemmed | Marine Heatwaves and Cold Spells Accompanied by Mesoscale Eddies Globally |
| title_short | Marine Heatwaves and Cold Spells Accompanied by Mesoscale Eddies Globally |
| title_sort | marine heatwaves and cold spells accompanied by mesoscale eddies globally |
| topic | marine heatwaves marine cold spells anticyclonic eddies cyclonic eddies |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/14/2468 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sifansu marineheatwavesandcoldspellsaccompaniedbymesoscaleeddiesglobally AT yuxuanfu marineheatwavesandcoldspellsaccompaniedbymesoscaleeddiesglobally AT wenjinsun marineheatwavesandcoldspellsaccompaniedbymesoscaleeddiesglobally AT jihaidong marineheatwavesandcoldspellsaccompaniedbymesoscaleeddiesglobally |