Ocean Science
Ocean Science
OS
Articles | Volume 21, issue 4
Articles | Volume 21, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1695-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1695-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 21, issue 4
Research article
 | Highlight paper
 | 
05 Aug 2025
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 05 Aug 2025

Subsurface manifestation of marine heat waves in the southwestern Indian Ocean

Clea B. Welch, Neil Malan, Daneeja Mawren, Tamaryn Morris, Janet Sprintall, and Juliet C. Hermes

Data sets

Daily NOAA Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature (OISST) V2 High Resolution Dataset NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory https://psl.noaa.gov/data/gridded/data.noaa.oisst.v2.highres.html

High Resolution XBT Program – IX15 Transect Scripps Institution of Oceanography https://www-hrx.ucsd.edu/ix15.html

Global Ocean Gridded L4 Sea Surface Heights and Derived Variables Reprocessed 1993-ongoing EU Copernicus Marine Service Information https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00148

NOAA 0.25-degree Daily Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature (OISST), Version 2.1 B. Huang et al. https://doi.org/10.25921/RE9P-PT57

Model code and software

marineHeatWaves - detect marine heatwaves based on Hobday et al. (2016) E. C. J. Oliver https://github.com/ecjoliver/marineHeatWaves

Video abstract

Subsurface manifestation of Marine Heatwaves in the South West Indian Ocean Clea Welch et al. https://doi.org/10.5446/70019

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Co-editor-in-chief
Marine heatwaves are of particular interest globally currently, both scientifically and for their impact on communities. While much work has been done on surface expressions of marine heatwaves, their subsurface expressions have been less well studied. This is particularly the case in the Southwest Indian Ocean. This region is climatically important and the ecological impacts of marine heatwaves (both surface and subsurface) in this area could be significant, with consequential negative socio-economic outcomes.
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Short summary
Marine heat waves (MHWs) are prolonged periods of extreme ocean temperatures with significant impacts on marine ecosystems. Much research has focused on surface MHWs, but less is known about their subsurface extent. This study uses satellite and in situ data to investigate MHWs in the southwestern Indian Ocean (SWIO). We find that MHWs in the SWIO are closely linked to mesoscale eddies and that strong temperature anomalies extend below surface-identified MHWs.
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Extremes in the marine environment: analysis of multi-temporal...