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Marine Heatwaves
Marine Heatwaves
Marine heatwaves are defined as extreme warming event with anomalously warm water temperature exceeding the 90th percentile of climatological sea surface temperature based on at least 30 years of recorded data (Hobday et al., 2016). An example of a detected marine heatwave event in 2011 off Western Australia is shown on the side, highlighting the daily SST, the 30-year climatology, and the 90th percentile threshold.
The Marine Heatwave Project
The Marine Heatwave Project
Marine Heatwave in the Western Pacific: Impacts of Marine Heatwaves in Select West Philippine Sea Reefs
Marine Heatwave in the Western Pacific: Impacts of Marine Heatwaves in Select West Philippine Sea Reefs
The ocean around the Philippines is experiencing record-high temperatures in 2024, exceeding levels seen during the 2015/16 El Niño. Warm waters, especially west of the country, have triggered marine heatwaves that threaten ecosystems, biodiversity, fisheries, and coastal livelihoods. As the ocean absorbs over 90% of excess heat from global warming, rising temperatures lead to coral bleaching, shifting currents, and sea level rise.
Our lab is studying these events and their impact on West Philippine Sea reefs through this project funded by the Department of Science and Technology -Philippine Council for Agriculture Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD).
The Marine Heatwave Tracker
The Marine Heatwave Tracker
This methodology discussed above is applied to recorded daily Sea Surface Temperature (SST) data for the seas within and around the Philippines to observe daily marine heatwave anomalies.
This Philippine Marine Heatwave tracker website is developed with the aim to monitor both historical and recent marine heatwave events occurring on seas within and around the Philippines. A global marine heatwave tracker developed by the international working group for marine heatwaves is also available. Having a visual guide on the temporal and spatial distribution of marine heatwave in the Philippines through this tracker will enable stakeholders to target sites with important marine ecosystems that may be sensitive to anomalously elevated water temperatures.
Documentation on the various impacts of marine heatwaves globally suggests that marine heatwaves have significant impacts across trophic levels including key ecosystem habitats such as coral reefs and seagrass environments.
This tracker uses the Operational Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Ice Analysis – Near real time (OSTIA-NRT) Sea Surface Temperature (SST) dataset (Good et al., 2020) to provide up to date information on marine heatwaves based on SST. For the historical marine heatwave dataset from 1982-2021, the reanalysis of OSTIA SST was used.PhysOcean Team Members
PhysOcean Team Members
Dr. Charina Lyn A. Repollo
Project Lead
Rachel B. Francisco
Project Technical Specialist I
Cristan Dave C. Zablan
Web Developer
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