marine heatwaves

A marine heatwave is a period of abnormally high sea surface temperatures (SST) compared to typical temperatures for a particular season and locale. Marine heatwaves are caused by a variety of drivers. These include short term weather events such as fronts, intraseasonal events, annual, and decadal (10-year) modes like El Niño events, and human-caused climate change. Such heatwaves affect marine ecosystems. For example, heatwaves can lead to events such as coral bleaching, sea star wasting disea