Articles | Volume 21, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1487-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1487-2025
Research article
 | 
24 Jul 2025
Research article |  | 24 Jul 2025

Extreme sensitivity of the northeastern Gulf of Lion (western Mediterranean) to subsurface heatwaves: physical processes and insights into effects on gorgonian populations in the summer of 2022

Claude Estournel, Tristan Estaque, Caroline Ulses, Quentin-Boris Barral, and Patrick Marsaleix

Model code and software

SYMPHONIE model Sources Patrick Marsaleix https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13774747

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Short summary
During the summer of 2022 in the eastern Gulf of Lion (NW Mediterranean), exceptionally warm temperatures were observed down to depths of 30 m, along with massive mortality of benthic species. It has been shown that these deep marine heatwaves are linked to southeasterly wind episodes, which induce deep plunges of surface water overheated by the atmospheric heatwave. These events are rare in summer, but their impact on ecosystems is dramatic and will only increase with climate change.
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