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Cited by 449Climate variability and modelsOceanographic and Atmospheric ProcessesMarine and coastal ecosystems

La Niña forces unprecedented Leeuwin Current warming in 2011

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Feng, Ming, McPhaden, Michael J., Xie, Shang-Ping, Hafner, Jan·2013·Scientific Reports
DOI 10.1038/srep01277PMC PMC3572450
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Abstract

Unprecedented warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies were observed off the west coast of Australia in February-March 2011. Peak SST during a 2-week period were 5°C warmer than normal, causing widespread coral bleaching and fish kills. Understanding the climatic drivers of this extreme event, which we dub "Ningaloo Niño", is crucial for predicting similar events under the influence of global warming. Here we use observational data and numerical models to demonstrate that the extreme warming was mostly driven by an unseasonable surge of the poleward-flowing Leeuwin Current in austral summer, which transported anomalously warm water southward along the coast. The unusual intensification of the Leeuwin Current was forced remotely by oceanic and atmospheric teleconnections associated with the extraordinary 2010-2011 La Niña. The amplitude of the warming was boosted by both multi-decadal trends in the Pacific toward more La Niña-like conditions and intraseasonal variations in the Indian Ocean.

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  • The atmosphere, land surface and ocean all may have important driving roles in how and where prolonged heat events play out.

    “From examples such as the 2003 MHW in the northern Mediterranean Sea (Garrabou et al. 2009), the 2011 Ningaloo Niño in Western Australia (Feng et al. 2013) and the 2012 MHW in the northwest Atlantic (Mills et al. 2013; Chen et al. 2014), it is clear that the atmosphere, land surface and ocean all may have important driving roles in how and where these prolonged heat events play out.”

    From A hierarchical approach to defining marine heatwaves (2016) · cites this paper as Feng et al. 2013

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Authors
Feng, M., McPhaden, M. J., Xie, S.-P., & Hafner, J.
Affiliations
  • Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU)
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (US)
  • University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US)
Corresponding author
Feng, Ming
ORCID
Venue
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2013-02-14
Volume
3
Issue
1
Pages
1277-1277
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/srep01277
PMC
PMC3572450
OpenAlex
W2083522655
Cited by
449
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 26 · 2025: 39 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 45 · 2021: 54 · 2020: 48 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 37 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 24 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 7
FWCI
17.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation
  • Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
  • Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Climate Program Office
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate variability and models
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine and coastal ecosystems
Keywords
Leeuwin Current, sea surface temperature anomalies, coral bleaching, fish kills, teleconnections, poleward flow, Ningaloo, Western Australia coast

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