Summer heatwaves on the Baltic Sea seabed contribute to oxygen deficiency in shallow areas
Abstract Since the early 1980ies, the shallow and brackish Baltic Sea, located in northern Europe, has warmed fastest of all the world’s coastal seas. Hence, the total heat exposure during marine heatwaves increased in frequency and duration, which may have a major impact on the marine ecosystem. We...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01268-z |
| _version_ | 1797273081562005504 |
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| author | Kseniia Safonova H. E. Markus Meier Matthias Gröger |
| author_facet | Kseniia Safonova H. E. Markus Meier Matthias Gröger |
| author_sort | Kseniia Safonova |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Since the early 1980ies, the shallow and brackish Baltic Sea, located in northern Europe, has warmed fastest of all the world’s coastal seas. Hence, the total heat exposure during marine heatwaves increased in frequency and duration, which may have a major impact on the marine ecosystem. We found that marine heatwaves, using two different, commonly used definitions, occurred everywhere on the sea surface since the early 1990s. Periods with sea surface temperatures larger than 20 °C lasting longer than 10 days were particularly numerous in the shallow coastal zone of the southern and eastern Baltic Sea. Furthermore, summer marine heatwaves that reached the seabed mainly occurred in water depths of less than 20 m, where they led to a decrease in oxygen concentration. Since the early 1990s, a positive trend in the expansion of marine heatwaves has been observed on the seabed. The increasing number of marine heatwaves increases the risk of hypoxia events in the coastal zone. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:38:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1507ca3ecbbc442497157959d7edd2b8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:38:29Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj.art-1507ca3ecbbc442497157959d7edd2b82024-03-05T20:27:49ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352024-02-015111210.1038/s43247-024-01268-zSummer heatwaves on the Baltic Sea seabed contribute to oxygen deficiency in shallow areasKseniia Safonova0H. E. Markus Meier1Matthias Gröger2Department of Physical Oceanography and Instrumentation, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research WarnemündeDepartment of Physical Oceanography and Instrumentation, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research WarnemündeDepartment of Physical Oceanography and Instrumentation, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research WarnemündeAbstract Since the early 1980ies, the shallow and brackish Baltic Sea, located in northern Europe, has warmed fastest of all the world’s coastal seas. Hence, the total heat exposure during marine heatwaves increased in frequency and duration, which may have a major impact on the marine ecosystem. We found that marine heatwaves, using two different, commonly used definitions, occurred everywhere on the sea surface since the early 1990s. Periods with sea surface temperatures larger than 20 °C lasting longer than 10 days were particularly numerous in the shallow coastal zone of the southern and eastern Baltic Sea. Furthermore, summer marine heatwaves that reached the seabed mainly occurred in water depths of less than 20 m, where they led to a decrease in oxygen concentration. Since the early 1990s, a positive trend in the expansion of marine heatwaves has been observed on the seabed. The increasing number of marine heatwaves increases the risk of hypoxia events in the coastal zone.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01268-z |
| spellingShingle | Kseniia Safonova H. E. Markus Meier Matthias Gröger Summer heatwaves on the Baltic Sea seabed contribute to oxygen deficiency in shallow areas Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Summer heatwaves on the Baltic Sea seabed contribute to oxygen deficiency in shallow areas |
| title_full | Summer heatwaves on the Baltic Sea seabed contribute to oxygen deficiency in shallow areas |
| title_fullStr | Summer heatwaves on the Baltic Sea seabed contribute to oxygen deficiency in shallow areas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Summer heatwaves on the Baltic Sea seabed contribute to oxygen deficiency in shallow areas |
| title_short | Summer heatwaves on the Baltic Sea seabed contribute to oxygen deficiency in shallow areas |
| title_sort | summer heatwaves on the baltic sea seabed contribute to oxygen deficiency in shallow areas |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01268-z |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kseniiasafonova summerheatwavesonthebalticseaseabedcontributetooxygendeficiencyinshallowareas AT hemarkusmeier summerheatwavesonthebalticseaseabedcontributetooxygendeficiencyinshallowareas AT matthiasgroger summerheatwavesonthebalticseaseabedcontributetooxygendeficiencyinshallowareas |