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Marine heatwaves are in the eye of the beholder

Nature Climate Change volume 15, pages 236–239 (2025)Cite this article

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Critical methodological choices in marine heatwave detection can yield dramatically different results. We call for context-specific methods that account for regional variability to advance marine heatwave research and socio-ecological outcomes.

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Fig. 1: A conceptual framework highlighting some decision points and pathways in MHW detection.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the NASA Ecological Conservation program under grant numbers 80NSSC19K0187 and 80NSSC23K1538 (C.D.B., R.L.L., L.H.M. and N.F.), the NASA Ocean Salinity Science Team under grant number 80NSSC22K0995 (S.R.) and the Northeast Regional Ocean Council, as well as the Postdoctoral Scholar Program (L.H.M.), the Robert L. James Early Career Scientist Award (C.D.B.) and the Investment in Science Fund (S.R.) at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Nima Farchadi, Laura H. McDonnell.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Ecological Monitoring and Management, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

    Nima Farchadi & Rebecca L. Lewison

  2. Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA

    Nima Farchadi, Laura H. McDonnell & Camrin D. Braun

  3. Physical Oceanography Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA

    Svenja Ryan

Authors
  1. Nima Farchadi
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  2. Laura H. McDonnell
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  3. Svenja Ryan
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  4. Rebecca L. Lewison
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  5. Camrin D. Braun
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Correspondence to Laura H. McDonnell.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Farchadi, N., McDonnell, L.H., Ryan, S. et al. Marine heatwaves are in the eye of the beholder. Nat. Clim. Chang. 15, 236–239 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02257-6

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