Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2025, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (1): 82-92.doi: 10.11978/2024036CSTR: 32234.14.2024036

• Marine Hydrology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Distribution characteristics and mechanism of the Northwest Pacific marine heatwaves in the summer of 2022*

ZHOU Xiangrun1(), WANG Ying1(), ZHI Hai2   

  1. 1. School of Marine Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
    2. School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
  • Received:2024-02-05 Revised:2024-03-06 Online:2025-01-10 Published:2025-02-10
  • Contact: WANG Ying
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(41905089); Science and Technology Innovation Project of Laoshan Laboratory(LSKJ202202403)

Abstract:

The distribution characteristics of marine heatwaves in the northwest Pacific Ocean, from July 1 to September 30, 2022, were analyzed based on the coral reef watch (CRW) heatwaves monitoring dataset using satellite remote sensing. The typical marine heatwaves processes at single stations and formation mechanism of regional heatwaves in three regions with strong heatwaves were mainly explored. A composite analysis of atmospheric and ocean variables was used to investigate the mechanism of marine heatwaves. The results indicate that: (1) The spatial distribution of various attributes of marine heatwaves in the northwest Pacific has certain similarities except for the maximum intensity, and overall, the high values are relatively concentrated. (2) The properties of marine heatwaves in the offshore area of Jiangsu are significantly higher than those in other regions; the Kuroshio basin near Taiwan has a lower maximum intensity but longer duration of marine heatwaves; the values of various attributes of marine heatwaves in the offshore area of Guangdong are above the spatial mean of Northwest Pacific Ocean. (3) The generation of a marine heatwave in the offshore area of Jiangsu within 92 days is closely related to the combined effect of atmospheric forcing under the expansion of the Western Pacific Subtropical High and the transport process of atmospheric wind field with a large amount of sensible heat and latent heat from the Kuroshio basin. The marine heatwaves in the Kuroshio basin near Taiwan and the offshore area of Guangdong are mainly caused by the increased solar radiation under the control of the Western Pacific Subtropical High.

Key words: marine heatwaves, Northwest Pacific, atmospheric forcing, sea surface temperature

CLC Number: 

  • P732.6