More extreme marine heatwaves in the China Seas during the global warming hiatus

Abstract

Based on the satellite-derived global daily sea surface temperature (SST) data set with high resolution (0.25°by 0.25°), we analyzed changes in annual mean SST and extreme SSTs over the China Seas since 1982. Results show that the annual mean SST in the China Seas has experienced a remarkable declining trend during the global warming hiatus (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013), which was dominated by the striking cooling of SST in boreal winter. Despite annual mean SST experienced warming hiatus after 1998, the regional averaged SST for 1998-2013 was still 0.5°C above that for 1982-1997. The statistical distributions show that there are not only significant warmer climate shift in annual mean SSTs but also in annual extreme hot SSTs and cold SSTs. These changes can increase the likelihood of extreme oceanic warming events, known as marine heatwaves (MHWs). Further analyses reveal that, from 1982 to present, the MHW frequency increases at a rate of 1.13 events per decade, 2.5 times the global mean rate. For the period 1998-2013, the MHWs in the China Sea has never decreased in both of the frequency and intensity but has already become more frequent, longer duration and more intense than those metrics of MHWs during 1982MHWs during -1997

Asymmetric trends of extreme temperature over the Loess Plateau during 1998–2018

“…Previous studies have suggested that global extreme climate events are becoming more complex (Cohen et al ., 2012; Chen and Zhai, 2017; Li et al ., 2019; McGree et al ., 2019). For example, the extreme heat waves in summer and extreme low temperature events in winter have become more frequent and intense (Seneviratne et al ., 2014; Yang et al ., 2015b; Li et al ., 2019). Asymmetric patterns of warm and cold extremes are also increasing (Cohen et al ., 2012; Sillmann et al ., 2014; Garfinkel et al ., 2017).…”

The Role of the Pacific‐Japan Pattern in Extreme Heatwaves Over Korea and Japan

“…It is worth noting that positive PJ patterns are also likely related to coastal marine heatwaves (see Figure 3b), which have devastating impacts on aquaculture and fisheries (S. Lee et al, 2020;Y. Li et al, 2019;Oliver et al, 2018).…”

“…It is worth noting that positive PJ patterns are also likely related to coastal marine heatwaves (see Figure 3b), which have devastating impacts on aquaculture and fisheries (S. Lee et al., 2020; Y. Li et al., 2019; Oliver et al., 2018). Therefore, atmospheric and marine heatwaves can interact through atmosphere‐ocean coupling processes such as the heat flux exchange (e.g., Olita et al., 2007; Figure 3d).…”

An asymmetric variation of hot and cold SST extremes in the China Seas during the recent warming hiatus period

“…The China Seas is an important marginal sea located between the mainland China and the northwest Pacific Ocean with rich marine ecosystems and resources. Recent study found that the China Seas also experienced a remarkable declining trend during the global warming hiatus 13 .…”

“…Few studies have paid attention to the changes of water temperature extremes in the China Seas during the recent global warming hiatus. Annual mean SST has experienced warming hiatus in the China Seas since 1998 13 , 20 , whether and how these extremes changed during the recent warming hiatus remains unclear. The purpose of this study is to explore the patterns of the changes in extremes in the coastal China seas and adjacent waters (hereafter referred to as the China Seas), particularly for the recent hiatus period of 1998–2013.…”