Work

Persistent 2024 Warm‐Season Marine Heatwave in the Kuroshio Extension Region Under Global Warming

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In 2024, the Kuroshio Extension (KE) region experienced a prolonged marine heatwave (MHW), intensifying during the warm season and peaking in mid‐August. Mixed‐layer heat budget analysis reveals that the onset was primarily driven by anticyclonic eddies associated with a northward‐shifted KE axis and enhanced shortwave radiation due to atmospheric blocking. This was further amplified by an eastward‐propagating Eurasian teleconnection wave train triggered by North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies. The decay phase was dominated by eddy activity and wind–evaporation–SST feedback. Attribution analysis shows that such an event would have been unlikely without anthropogenic forcing, with approximately 35% of its magnitude attributed to atmospheric circulation, and the remaining 65% to thermodynamic warming and oceanic internal dynamics. These results highlight the increasing likelihood of persistent MHWs in dynamic western boundary current regions under climate change, emphasizing the need for enhanced predictive tools and targeted adaptation efforts.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters

DOI: 10.1029/2025gl117274

Authors: Lifei Qiao, Haosu Tang, Gang Huang

Institutions: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Sheffield

Language: English

Topic: Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes

Subfield: Oceanography

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Life below water

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,190