On the uncertainty of future projections of Marine Heatwave events in the North Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

Marine Heatwave (MHW) events have been increasing all around the world, causing severe impacts on marine ecosystems and on the economy of the aquaculture, fishing and tourism industries. In this study, the occurrence and characteristics of MHW events in the North Atlantic are analyzed for a recent period (1971–2000) and the two future periods (2041–2070 and 2071–2100). The analysis is based on Sea Surface Temperature (SST) data obtained from observations and from Global Climate Models (GCM) in the CMIP5 archieve. The results show that the GCMs present significant shortcomings in reproducing the SST and MHWs. The model results regarding the recent trends in MHW are in agreement with the ones observed, although they underestimate the values of MHW intensity and overestimate the values of both frequency and duration of events. The MHWs observed occur at a mean frequency of 1.90 events per year and are characterized by ~ 13 days of mean duration and 0.37 oC of mean intensity, while the multi-model ensemble mean characterizes the events with 12 additional days and 0.15 oC less intensity. Under climate change scenarios, when considering a stationary threshold, the models project noticeable increases in MHW event intensity that could reach 2 oC above the 90th percentile and a quasi-permanent state of MHW by the end of the century. When a non-stationary threshold is considered, the characteristics of the events are similar to those obtained during the historical period. The GCMs significant biases in simulating the SST and leading to extremes like MHWs highlight the importance of improving GCM performance.