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Intense and prolonged subsurface marine heatwaves pose risk to biodiversity

An insight into the global patterns of marine heatwaves from the surface to depths of 2,000 m reveals that subsurface events are more intense and long-lasting than surface ones. Biodiversity exposure to the effects of marine heatwaves is higher at depths of 50–250 m, suggesting that subsurface biodiversity could be at considerable risk.

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Fig. 1: Spatial distribution of MHW metrics at varying depth for the period 1993–2019.

References

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This is a summary of: Fragkopoulou, E. et al. Marine biodiversity exposed to prolonged and intense subsurface heatwaves. Nat. Cim. Change https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01790-6 (2023).

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Intense and prolonged subsurface marine heatwaves pose risk to biodiversity. Nat. Clim. Chang. 13, 1029–1030 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01796-0

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