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Compounding impact of severe weather events fuels marine heatwave in the coastal ocean

Author

Listed:
  • B. Dzwonkowski

    (University of South Alabama
    Dauphin Island Sea Lab)

  • J. Coogan

    (University of South Alabama
    Dauphin Island Sea Lab
    Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

  • S. Fournier

    (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology)

  • G. Lockridge

    (Dauphin Island Sea Lab)

  • K. Park

    (Texas A&M University at Galveston)

  • T. Lee

    (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology)

Abstract

Exposure to extreme events is a major concern in coastal regions where growing human populations and stressed natural ecosystems are at significant risk to such phenomena. However, the complex sequence of processes that transform an event from notable to extreme can be challenging to identify and hence, limit forecast abilities. Here, we show an extreme heat content event (i.e., a marine heatwave) in coastal waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico resulted from compounding effects of a tropical storm followed by an atmospheric heatwave. This newly identified process of generating extreme ocean temperatures occurred prior to landfall of Hurricane Michael during October of 2018 and, as critical contributor to storm intensity, likely contributed to the subsequent extreme hurricane. This pattern of compounding processes will also exacerbate other environmental problems in temperature-sensitive ecosystems (e.g., coral bleaching, hypoxia) and is expected to have expanding impacts under global warming predictions.

Suggested Citation

  • B. Dzwonkowski & J. Coogan & S. Fournier & G. Lockridge & K. Park & T. Lee, 2020. "Compounding impact of severe weather events fuels marine heatwave in the coastal ocean," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-18339-2
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18339-2
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    Cited by:

    1. Dillon J. Amaya & Michael G. Jacox & Michael A. Alexander & James D. Scott & Clara Deser & Antonietta Capotondi & Adam S. Phillips, 2023. "Bottom marine heatwaves along the continental shelves of North America," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, December.

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