Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Science, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, 10110, Thailand.
Department of Oceanography, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Diponegoro University, Semarang, 50275, Indonesia.
Mar Environ Res. 2024 Jun;198:106570. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106570. Epub 2024 May 30.
Marine heatwaves (MHWs) have been reported often throughout the world, producing severe effects on marine ecosystems. However, the spatial pattern and trend of MHWs in the Gulf of Thailand (GOT) is still unknown. Based on high-resolution daily satellite data over a 40-year period from 1982 to 2021, changes in annual mean SST and MHW occurrences across the GOT are explored here. The results demonstrate that during a warming hiatus (1998-2009), annual mean SST in the GOT encountered a dropping trend, followed by an increasing trend during a warming reacceleration period (2010-2021). Although a warming hiatus and a warming reacceleration occurred in the annual mean SST after 1998, regional averaged SSTs were still 0.18 °C-0.42 °C higher than that for 1982-1997. Statistical distributions reveal that there was a significant shift in both annual mean SSTs and annual extreme hot SSTs. These changes have the potential to increase the frequency of MHWs. Further analysis reveals that MHW frequency has increased at a rate of 1.11 events per decade from 1982 to 2021, which is 2.5 times the global mean rate. For the period 2010-2021, the frequency and intensity of MHWs in the GOT have never dropped, but have instead been more frequent, longer lasting and extreme than those metrics of MHWs between 1982 and 2009. Furthermore, the findings highlight significant changes in the SST over the GOT that may lead us to change or modify the reference period of the MHW definition. The findings also suggest that heat transport and redistribution mechanisms in the GOT sea are changing. This study contributes to our understanding of MHW features in the GOT and the implications for marine ecosystems.
海洋热浪（MHWs）在全球范围内经常发生，对海洋生态系统产生了严重影响。然而，泰国湾（GOT）的海洋热浪的空间模式和趋势仍不清楚。本研究基于 1982 年至 2021 年 40 年的高分辨率逐日卫星数据，探讨了 GOT 年平均海表温度变化和海洋热浪发生的变化。结果表明，在变暖暂歇期（1998-2009 年），GOT 的年平均海表温度呈下降趋势，随后在变暖加速期（2010-2021 年）呈上升趋势。尽管 1998 年后年平均 SST 出现了变暖暂歇和变暖加速，但区域平均 SST 仍比 1982-1997 年高 0.18°C-0.42°C。统计分布表明，年平均 SST 和年极端高温 SST 都发生了显著变化。这些变化有可能增加海洋热浪的频率。进一步分析表明，1982 年至 2021 年，海洋热浪的频率以每十年 1.11 次的速度增加，是全球平均速度的 2.5 倍。在 2010-2021 年期间，GOT 海洋热浪的频率和强度从未下降，反而比 1982 年至 2009 年期间更为频繁、持续时间更长且更为极端。此外，这些发现突显了 GOT 海表温度的显著变化，这可能导致我们改变或修改海洋热浪定义的参考期。这些发现还表明，GOT 海洋的热输送和再分配机制正在发生变化。本研究有助于我们了解 GOT 海洋热浪的特征及其对海洋生态系统的影响。
