MHWs have also been linked to widespread mortality of invertebrates, pelagic forage species, fish, marine mammals, and fish-eating seabirds, disrupted food webs, shifts in species ranges and abundances, and even loss of biodiversity and genetic diversity 5, 6, 7, 11. ![]() The loss of seagrass, kelp, and coral affects regulating and habitat services derived from marine ecosystems by reducing carbon sequestration and storage, disrupting carbon and nitrogen cycling, and contracting habitats for commercial and iconic species 6, 7. MHWs have catastrophic effects on critical foundation species that play an essential role in the ecological functioning of ecosystems and entire biomes, such as coral bleaching and mortality 8, and declines in seagrass meadow and kelp forest extent 9, 10. 1a), with widespread and profound ecological and socio-economic impacts 5, 6, 7. Over the past decades, MHWs of record-breaking intensity or/and duration have been observed in the open ocean, marginal seas, and coastal regions (Fig. Globally, the frequency and duration of MHWs have increased substantially over the past century 3 and are projected to increase further under continued global warming 4. Marine heatwaves (MHWs)-periods of anomalously high ocean temperatures-can extend to thousands of kilometers and last for weeks to months 1, 2. These results contribute to a better understanding of the physical drivers and ecological impacts of MHWs in a warming climate. The area and depth of all types of MHWs exhibit significant increasing trends over the past two decades. These vertical structures are influenced by ocean dynamical processes, including oceanic planetary waves, boundary currents, eddies, and mixing. ![]() These MHW types are characterized by different spatial distributions with hotspots of subsurface-reversed and subsurface-intensified MHWs at low latitudes and shallow and deep MHWs at middle-high latitudes. Here, we identify four main types of MHWs with different vertical structures using Argo profiles: shallow, subsurface-reversed, subsurface-intensified, and deep MHWs. The surface warming associated with MHWs can penetrate into the deep ocean however, the vertical structure of MHWs is poorly known in the global ocean. A marine heatwave (MHW) is typically defined as an anomalous warm event in the surface ocean, with wide-ranging impacts on marine and socio-economic systems.
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