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Marine heatwaves need clear definitions so coastal communities can adapt

Clearly communicating baselines for assessing ocean warming is essential for understanding extreme events and how they will affect marine ecosystems and livelihoods in the future.
  1. Dillon J. Amaya

    1. Dillon J. Amaya is a research physical scientist at the NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado.

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  2. Michael G. Jacox

    1. Michael G. Jacox is a research oceanographer at the NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado and the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center in Monterey, California.

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  3. Melanie R. Fewings

    1. Melanie R. Fewings is an associate professor at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon.

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  4. Vincent S. Saba

    1. Vincent S. Saba is a research fishery biologist at the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Princeton, New Jersey.

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  5. Malte F. Stuecker

    1. Malte F. Stuecker is an assistant professor in the Department of Oceanography and the International Pacific Research Center, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii at Mānoa in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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  6. Ryan R. Rykaczewski

    1. Ryan R. Rykaczewski is a supervisory research marine scientist at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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  7. Andrew C. Ross

    1. Andrew C. Ross is a Research Physical Scientist at the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey.

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  8. Charles A. Stock

    1. Charles A. Stock is a research oceanographer at the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey.

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  9. Antonietta Capotondi

    1. Antonietta Capotondi is a senior scientist at the NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado and at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder.

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  10. Colleen M. Petrik

    1. Colleen M. Petrik is an assistant professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego in La Jolla, California.

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  11. Steven J. Bograd

    1. Steven J. Bograd is a research oceanographer at the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center in Monterey, California.

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  12. Michael A. Alexander

    1. Michael A. Alexander is a meteorologist at the NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado.

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  13. Wei Cheng

    1. Wei Cheng is a research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies, University of Washington and the NOAA Pacific Marine and Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, Washington.

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  14. Albert J. Hermann

    1. Albert J. Hermann is a principal research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies, University of Washington and the NOAA Pacific Marine and Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, Washington.

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  15. Kelly A. Kearney

    1. Kelly A. Kearney is a research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies, University of Washington and the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, Washington.

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  16. Brian S. Powell

    1. Brian S. Powell is a professor in the Department of Oceanography, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii at Mānoa in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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Aerial view from a drone shows Japan's largest coral reef, Sekiseishoko, with bleached corals and divers at the surface

Coral bleaching is developing in Japan’s largest coral reef, Sekiseishoko, which lies between Ishigaki and Iriomote islands. Credit: BJ Warnick/Kyodo/Newscom/Alamy

Marine heatwaves devastate ecosystems and the coastal communities that rely on them. Weeks, months or years of unusually warm waters can bleach corals, spur harmful algal blooms and wipe out seaweeds. They might kill or strand marine animals and disrupt food webs and fisheries1. Billions of US dollars are lost to such events around the world each year2.

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Nature 616, 29-32 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00924-2

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 05 April 2023: An earlier version of this article gave an incorrect affiliation for Ryan R. Rykaczewski.

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Supplementary Information

  1. List of co-signatories

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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