Premium
The 2017 Record Marine Heatwave in the Southwestern Atlantic Shelf
Author(s) -
Manta G.,
Mello S.,
Trinchin R.,
Badagian J.,
Barreiro M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2018gl081070
Subject(s) - oceanography , climatology , plume , environmental science , stratification (seeds) , marine ecosystem , geology , ecosystem , geography , meteorology , seed dormancy , botany , germination , dormancy , biology , ecology
Abstract Marine heatwaves (MHWs), considered as one when temperatures warmer than the 90th percentile based on a 30‐year historical baseline period are registered for five or more consecutive days, can have devastating ecosystem and socioeconomic consequences. MHWs were studied in the Southwestern Atlantic shelf (32–38°S) using daily sea surface temperatures between 1988 and 2017. More than half of the days with MHWs occurred since 2014. The most intense event happened in austral summer 2017, reaching temperatures of 26.8 °C, 1.7 °C above previous maximum. Regionally, an unprecedented combination of persistent extremely high air temperature and low wind speed probably led to an intense loop of heat gaining and stratification in the Rio de la Plata plume water's influence. At upper levels, the atmospheric circulation had a wavenumber of 3 pattern before the event and a blocking configuration during the event. Madden‐Julian Oscillation seems to have played a leading role in setting this planetary scale configuration.