Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Marine heatwaves are in the eye of the beholder

Nature Climate Change volume 15, pages 236–239 (2025)Cite this article

Subjects

Critical methodological choices in marine heatwave detection can yield dramatically different results. We call for context-specific methods that account for regional variability to advance marine heatwave research and socio-ecological outcomes.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: A conceptual framework highlighting some decision points and pathways in MHW detection.

References

  1. Smith, K. E. et al. Annu. Rev. Mar. Sci. 15, 119–145 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Pearce, A. et al. The “Marine Heat Wave” off Western Australia during the Summer of 2010/11 Fisheries Research Report No. 222 (Department of Fisheries, Western Australia, 2011).

  3. Hobday, A. J. et al. Prog. Oceanogr. 141, 227–238 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Smith, K. E. et al. Prog. Oceanogr. 231, 103404 (2025).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Groβelindemann, H., Ryan, S., Ummenhofer, C. C., Martin, T. & Biastoch, A. Front. Clim. 4, 857937 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Amaya, D. J. et al. Nat. Commun. 14, 1038 (2023).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Farchadi, N. et al. Fish Fish. 25, 602–618 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Welch, H. et al. Nat. Commun. 14, 5188 (2023).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Shen, X. et al. Environ. Res. Lett. 20, 014042 (2025).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Li, T., Tong, S. & Shi, X. Nature 618, 30 (2023).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Smith, K. E. et al. Science 374, eabj3593 (2021).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Pershing, A. J. et al. Science 350, 809–812 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Feng, Y.-T. et al. Adv. Clim. Change Res. 14, 560–572 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Huang, B. et al. NOAA 0.25-degree Daily Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature (OISST) Version 2.1 (NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, accessed 15 September 2024); https://doi.org/10.25921/RE9P-PT57

  15. MEaSUREs Multi-scale Ultra-high Resolution (MUR) Sea Surface Temperature Data Version 4.1 (NASA JPL, Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center, accessed 15 September 2024); https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/MEaSUREs-MUR

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the NASA Ecological Conservation program under grant numbers 80NSSC19K0187 and 80NSSC23K1538 (C.D.B., R.L.L., L.H.M. and N.F.), the NASA Ocean Salinity Science Team under grant number 80NSSC22K0995 (S.R.) and the Northeast Regional Ocean Council, as well as the Postdoctoral Scholar Program (L.H.M.), the Robert L. James Early Career Scientist Award (C.D.B.) and the Investment in Science Fund (S.R.) at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Nima Farchadi, Laura H. McDonnell.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Ecological Monitoring and Management, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

    Nima Farchadi & Rebecca L. Lewison

  2. Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA

    Nima Farchadi, Laura H. McDonnell & Camrin D. Braun

  3. Physical Oceanography Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA

    Svenja Ryan

Authors
  1. Nima Farchadi
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Laura H. McDonnell
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Svenja Ryan
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Rebecca L. Lewison
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Camrin D. Braun
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laura H. McDonnell.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Farchadi, N., McDonnell, L.H., Ryan, S. et al. Marine heatwaves are in the eye of the beholder. Nat. Clim. Chang. 15, 236–239 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02257-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02257-6

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing