US EditionScientists Reveal What Drove 2023's Record-Smashing North Atlantic Marine Heat Wave
- In June 2023, the North Atlantic Ocean experienced a record-breaking marine heatwave that shattered previous temperature records across the region.
- Scientists identified the heatwave's primary drivers as unprecedented weak winds, increased solar radiation, and ongoing climate change, with weaker winds measured during June and July.
- By early summer, average warming across the basin rose to 1.4°C above normal—nearly double the previous 2010 record—causing rapid temperature increases throughout the North Atlantic region, from the northern reaches near Greenland down to areas bordering the Sahara, with significant impacts on both marine and land ecosystems.
- Professor Matthew England from UNSW highlighted that the level of warming observed in the North Atlantic during the summer of 2023 matched approximately twenty years’ worth of typical temperature increase in the region, emphasizing the extraordinary nature of the event.
- The marine heatwave persisted over a year and triggered deadly European heatwaves, floods, Caribbean coral bleaching, and intensified storms like Hurricane Idalia, implying worsening future impacts without fossil fuel reductions.
14 Articles
14 Articles
A huge area of ocean – four times the size of Europe – was hit by an unprecedented marine heatwave last year.
The sea temperature wave in the North Atlantic Ocean in 2023 was caused by weak winds and solar radiation. Both factors are the result of global warming and can become more common.
Exceptional atmospheric conditions in June 2023 generated a northwest European marine heatwave which contributed to breaking land temperature records
The Northwest European shelf experienced unprecedented surface temperature anomalies in June 2023 (anomalies up to 5 °C locally, north of Ireland). Here, we show the shelf average underwent its longest recorded category II marine heatwave (16 days). With state-of-the-art observation and modelling capabilities, we show the marine heatwave developed quickly due to strong atmospheric forcing (high level of sunshine, weak winds, tropical air) and we…
Scientists reveal what drove 2023's record-smashing North Atlantic marine heat wave
In a UNSW-led Nature study, researchers say that an off-the-scale marine heat wave in the North Atlantic Ocean in 2023 was caused by record-breaking weak winds combined with increased solar radiation—all on the back of ongoing climate change.
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