The rise and fall of the “marine heat wave” off Western Australia during the summer of 2010/2011
Record high ocean temperatures were experienced along the Western Australian coast during the austral summer of 2010/2011. Satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in February 2011 peaked at 3 °C above the long-term monthly means over a wide area from Ningaloo (22°S) to Cape Leeuwin...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Elsevier
2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13513 |
| _version_ | 1848748367177318400 |
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| author | Pearce, Alan Feng, M. |
| author_facet | Pearce, Alan Feng, M. |
| author_sort | Pearce, Alan |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Record high ocean temperatures were experienced along the Western Australian coast during the austral summer of 2010/2011. Satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in February 2011 peaked at 3 °C above the long-term monthly means over a wide area from Ningaloo (22°S) to Cape Leeuwin (34°S) along the coast and out to >200 km offshore. Hourly temperature measurements at a number of mooring sites along the coast revealed that the temperature anomalies were mostly trapped in the surface mixed layer, with peak near shore temperatures rising to ~5 °C above average in the central west coastal region over a week encompassing the end of February and early March, resulting in some devastating fish kills as well as temporary southward range extensions of tropical fish species and megafauna such as whale sharks and manta rays. The elevated temperatures were a result of a combination of a record strength Leeuwin Current, a near-record La Niña event, and anomalously high air–sea heat flux into the ocean even though the SST was high. This heat wave was an unprecedented thermal event in Western Australian waters, superimposed on an underlying long-term temperature rise. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:03:55Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-13513 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:03:55Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-135132017-09-13T15:01:41Z The rise and fall of the “marine heat wave” off Western Australia during the summer of 2010/2011 Pearce, Alan Feng, M. Mortality Leeuwin Current Geographical distribution Water currents Continental shelves Temperature La Niña Record high ocean temperatures were experienced along the Western Australian coast during the austral summer of 2010/2011. Satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in February 2011 peaked at 3 °C above the long-term monthly means over a wide area from Ningaloo (22°S) to Cape Leeuwin (34°S) along the coast and out to >200 km offshore. Hourly temperature measurements at a number of mooring sites along the coast revealed that the temperature anomalies were mostly trapped in the surface mixed layer, with peak near shore temperatures rising to ~5 °C above average in the central west coastal region over a week encompassing the end of February and early March, resulting in some devastating fish kills as well as temporary southward range extensions of tropical fish species and megafauna such as whale sharks and manta rays. The elevated temperatures were a result of a combination of a record strength Leeuwin Current, a near-record La Niña event, and anomalously high air–sea heat flux into the ocean even though the SST was high. This heat wave was an unprecedented thermal event in Western Australian waters, superimposed on an underlying long-term temperature rise. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13513 10.1016/j.jmarsys.2012.10.009 Elsevier restricted |
| spellingShingle | Mortality Leeuwin Current Geographical distribution Water currents Continental shelves Temperature La Niña Pearce, Alan Feng, M. The rise and fall of the “marine heat wave” off Western Australia during the summer of 2010/2011 |
| title | The rise and fall of the “marine heat wave” off Western Australia during the summer of 2010/2011 |
| title_full | The rise and fall of the “marine heat wave” off Western Australia during the summer of 2010/2011 |
| title_fullStr | The rise and fall of the “marine heat wave” off Western Australia during the summer of 2010/2011 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The rise and fall of the “marine heat wave” off Western Australia during the summer of 2010/2011 |
| title_short | The rise and fall of the “marine heat wave” off Western Australia during the summer of 2010/2011 |
| title_sort | rise and fall of the “marine heat wave” off western australia during the summer of 2010/2011 |
| topic | Mortality Leeuwin Current Geographical distribution Water currents Continental shelves Temperature La Niña |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13513 |