logo
ResearchBunny Logo
Physical drivers of the summer 2019 North Pacific marine heatwave

Earth Sciences

Physical drivers of the summer 2019 North Pacific marine heatwave

D. J. Amaya, A. J. Miller, et al.

Summer 2019 saw the emergence of Blob 2.0, a resurgence of warm sea surface temperature anomalies in the Northeast Pacific triggered by a weakened North Pacific High-Pressure System. This research, conducted by Dillon J. Amaya, Arthur J. Miller, Shang-Ping Xie, and Yu Kosaka, reveals how these changes contributed to marine heatwaves and atmospheric dynamics.

00:00
00:00
Playback language: English
Abstract
Summer 2019 observations reveal a resurgence of Blob-like warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the Northeast Pacific, similar to the devastating 2013/2014 event. Unlike the original Blob, Blob 2.0 peaked in summer. This study shows that Blob 2.0 resulted from a prolonged weakening of the North Pacific High-Pressure System, reducing surface winds, evaporative cooling, and upper ocean mixing. Warmer waters then reduced low-cloud fraction, creating a positive feedback loop. Atmospheric model simulations, forced with observed SSTs, indicate that remote SST forcing from the central equatorial and subtropical North Pacific contributed to the weakened High. This multifaceted analysis clarifies the physical drivers of summertime North Pacific marine heatwaves.
Publisher
Nature Communications
Published On
Apr 20, 2020
Authors
Dillon J. Amaya, Arthur J. Miller, Shang-Ping Xie, Yu Kosaka
Tags
marine heatwaves
North Pacific High-Pressure System
Blob 2.0
warm sea surface temperature anomalies
atmospheric model simulations
climate dynamics

Related Publications

Explore these studies to deepen your understanding of the subject.

Unraveling the Indian monsoon's role in fueling the unprecedented 2022 Marine Heatwave in the Western North Pacific
Earth Sciences

Unraveling the Indian monsoon's role in fueling the unprecedented 2022 Marine Heatwave in the Western North Pacific

Q. Song, C. Wang, et al.

Drivers and impacts of the most extreme marine heatwave events
Earth Sciences

Drivers and impacts of the most extreme marine heatwave events

A. S. Gupta, M. Thomsen, et al.

Future trends of marine fish biomass distributions from the North Sea to the Barents Sea
Earth Sciences

Future trends of marine fish biomass distributions from the North Sea to the Barents Sea

C. Gordó-vilaseca, M. J. Costello, et al.

Geostationary satellite reveals increasing marine isoprene emissions in the center of the equatorial Pacific Ocean
Environmental Studies and Forestry

Geostationary satellite reveals increasing marine isoprene emissions in the center of the equatorial Pacific Ocean

W. Zhang and D. Gu

Listen, Learn & Level Up
Over 10,000 hours of research content in 25+ fields, available in 12+ languages.
No more digging through PDFs, just hit play and absorb the world's latest research in your language, on your time.
listen to research audio papers with researchbunny