Three decades of high-resolution coastal sea surface temperatures reveal more than warming
Open accessAbstract
Understanding and forecasting current and future consequences of coastal warming require a fine-scale assessment of the near-shore temperature changes. Here we show that despite the fact that 71% of the world's coastlines are significantly warming, rates of change have been highly heterogeneous both spatially and seasonally. We demonstrate that 46% of the coastlines have experienced a significant decrease in the frequency of extremely cold events, while extremely hot days are becoming more common in 38% of the area. Also, we show that the onset of the warm season is significantly advancing earlier in the year in 36% of the temperate coastal regions. More importantly, it is now possible to analyse local patterns within the global context, which is useful for a broad array of scientific fields, policy makers and general public.
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Lima and Wethey [4] found higher decadal rates of sea surface temperature change in coastal waters compared to the global ocean, based on remotely sensed SST data.
“A study by Lima and Wethey [4] found higher decadal rates of SST change in coastal waters compared to the global ocean based on remotely sensed SST data.”
From Baseline Climatology of the Canary Current Upwelling System and Evolution of Sea Surface Temperature (2024) · cites this paper as [4]
Major differences in sea surface temperature change have been observed between coastal waters and offshore waters.
“major differences have been observed between coastal waters and offshore waters [4,6].”
From Baseline Climatology of the Canary Current Upwelling System and Evolution of Sea Surface Temperature (2024) · cites this paper as [4]
Lima and Wethey [4] found decreases in sea surface temperature in the California and Humboldt currents, but increases in the areas of the Canary current and Benguela current.
“Lima and Wethey [4] found decreases in SST in the California and Humboldt currents, but increases in SST in the areas of the Canary current and Benguela current.”
From Baseline Climatology of the Canary Current Upwelling System and Evolution of Sea Surface Temperature (2024) · cites this paper as [4]
Upwelling can only be detected near the coast.
“However, given that upwelling can only be detected near the coast, it is imperative to use satellite data with a fine spatial resolution [4].”
From Baseline Climatology of the Canary Current Upwelling System and Evolution of Sea Surface Temperature (2024) · cites this paper as [4]
The Continental-scale latitudinal transects section discusses coastal currents associated with upwelling, and the Calculation of warming rates section explains why the study sampled pixels close to land. Neither says that upwelling can only be detected near the coast. Searches for that detection limit and for offshore upwelling found no passage addressing it; page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.74)
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Cites
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Flagged first, then by citations
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Global patterns of kelp forest change over the past half-century.
Krumhansl, K. A., Okamoto, D. K., Rassweiler, A., Novak, M., Bolton, J. J., Cavanaugh, K. C., Connell, S. D., Johnson, C. R., Konar, B., Ling, S. D., et al. (2016) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1606102113 · Cited by 785 · see citing works
Coastal warming and wind-driven upwelling: A global analysis
Varela, R., Lima, F. P., Seabra, R., Meneghesso, C., & Gómez-Gesteira, M. (2018) · Science of the Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.273 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Self-citationReduced Nearshore Warming Associated With Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems
Seabra, R., Varela, R., Santos, A. M., Gómez-Gesteira, M., Meneghesso, C., Wethey, D. S., & Lima, F. P. (2019) · Frontiers in Marine Science · doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00104 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Self-citationObservation-based sea surface temperature trends in Atlantic large marine ecosystems
Kessler, A., Goris, N., & Lauvset, S. K. (2022) · Progress in Oceanography · doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2022.102902 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Varela, R., DeCastro, M., Rodriguez-Diaz, L., Dias, J. M., & Gómez-Gesteira, M. (2022) · Journal of Marine Science and Engineering · doi:10.3390/jmse10121970 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Baseline Climatology of the Canary Current Upwelling System and Evolution of Sea Surface Temperature
Mills, L., Janeiro, J., & Martins, F. (2024) · Remote Sensing · doi:10.3390/rs16030504 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
- Authors
- Lima, F. P., & Wethey, D. S.
- Affiliations
- University of South Carolina (US)
- Venue
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2012-02-28
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 704-704
- ISSN
- 2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2046691276
- Cited by
- 549
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 56 · 2022: 48 · 2021: 48 · 2020: 41 · 2019: 52 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 43 · 2016: 37 · 2015: 35 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 35 · 2012: 12
- FWCI
- 24.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature Communications (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (1039513, 1129401)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NNX07AF20G, NNX11AP77G)
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NA04NOS4780264)
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (SFRH/BPD/34932/2007, PTDC/MAR/099391/2008)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate variability and models
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Earth-Surface Processes › Coastal and Marine Dynamics
- Keywords
- coastal warming, temperature extremes, hot days, spring onset, seasonal shifts, climate change impacts on coasts
- MeSH terms
- Conservation of Natural Resources, Forecasting, Hot Temperature, Oceans and Seas, Public Policy, Seasons, Seawater, Weather, Ecosystem, Climate Change, Global Warming, Aquatic Organisms
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