Scale‐Dependent Drivers of Marine Heatwaves Globally

Abstract

Abstract Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are prolonged extreme warm water events, threatening marine ecosystems. Understanding drivers of MHWs over the global ocean is essential for their forecast. Here, we use an eddy‐resolving coupled global climate model with improved realism of MHWs to evaluate the drivers of MHWs at different spatial scales, that is, MHWs defined based on temperature anomalies at different spatial scales. The properties of MHWs are scale‐dependent, being generally weaker, less frequent, and longer with increasing spatial scales. The primary driver of MHWs shifts from local oceanic intrinsic advection to atmospheric forcing as their spatial scale becomes larger. The transition spatial scale between the ocean and atmosphere‐driven regimes varies geographically, being larger in eddy‐rich regions but smaller in gyre interior. This study suggests the complicated dynamics of MHWs at different spatial scales and provides guidance on improving their forecast capacity.

Keywords

• marine heatwaves
• drivers
• spatial scales