ObsSea4Clim Training #6 Marine extremes in European seas - indicators and precursors
Authors/Creators
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1.
CMCC Foundation - Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change
Description
ABOUT THE TRAINING
Duration: 60 minutes
Contents:
This training session introduced the concept of extreme ocean indicators, and discussed their definition and relevance for understanding precursors. We focused on examples of extreme temperature indicators in European seas.
The training addressed the following:
- What do we need in order to define a marine extreme?
- Detection of large-scale atmospheric precursors, using the example of the Mediterranean Sea.
- Understanding of ocean preconditioning
Recording available: https://youtu.be/U-Jq01fn4BI
Your trainers
Ronan McAdam is a Junior Scientist at CMCC specialising in climate variability, forecasting, and extreme events, integrating oceanography, climate science, and machine learning. He is an expert in marine and terrestrial heatwaves, leading advances in forecast validation, novel indicators, and approaches that bridge research and applications.
Giulia Bonino is a Junior Scientist at the CMCC. She graduated from the PhD program in Science and Management of Climate Change at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice/CMCC, focusing on the variability of Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems within an ocean modelling framework. She has a strong background in physical oceanography and marine heatwaves, as well as in coupled physical-biogeochemical coastal modelling.
Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC) is an international, independent research center studying the interactions between climate change and society through advanced, multidisciplinary science. It integrates climate modeling, impact assessment, and environmental economics to deliver rigorous, policy-relevant insights for adaptation, mitigation, and sustainable growth. Through a uniquely interdisciplinary structure, CMCC is a global leader across the full climate research chain, supporting science-driven decisions for a sustainable future.
Dr. Roshin. P. Raj is a senior scientist at the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Norway. Raj is also part of the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research in Norway, where he co-leads the Polar Climate research theme. He is a physical oceanographer with nearly two decades of research experience in satellite remote sensing and climate research. He is actively involved in major international activities on climate change, such as the: World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) – Safe Landing Climates lighthouse activities; and the European Space Agency’s Climate Change Initiatives. His main research interest is to integrate satellite remote sensing with in-situ observations, ecosystem modelling and AI/Machine learning to investigate the impact of climate change on ocean processes and its cascading effect on marine ecosystem and human health.
Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC) is an independent non-profit research foundation established in 1986. The Center is a national environmental and climate research institute with basic funding from the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment. NERSC conducts basic and applied research, innovations, and services, primarily funded by research councils, space and governmental agencies, and industrial clients. It generates interdisciplinary scientific expertise and knowledge in Earth system environmental and climate research, satellite remote sensing, modelling and data assimilation, including AI/ML. With a vision of pioneering environmental and climate research, its research foci are on Earth sciences, particularly covering topics such as physical and biology oceanography, meteorology, sea ice/cryosphere studies, hydrology and climate studies, including remote sensing in all these themes.
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Reading Resources / References to the presentation:
- Bonino, G., McAdam, R., Athanasiadis, P. et al. Mediterranean summer marine heatwaves triggered by weaker winds under subtropical ridges. Nat. Geosci. 18, 848–853 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01762-9
- Bonino, G., Masina, S., Galimberti, G., and Moretti, M.: Southern Europe and western Asian marine heatwaves (SEWA-MHWs): a dataset based on macroevents, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1269–1285, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1269-2023, 2023.
- Simon, A., Pires, C., Frölicher, T.L. and Russo, A., 2023. Long-term warming and interannual variability contributions’ to marine heatwaves in the Mediterranean. Weather and Climate Extremes, 42, p.100619. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2023.100619
- Holbrook, N.J., Sen Gupta, A., Oliver, E.C.J. et al. Keeping pace with marine heatwaves.Nat Rev Earth Environ 1, 482–493 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0068-4
- Sousa, P.M., Barriopedro, D., García-Herrera, R., Woollings, T. and Trigo, R.M., 2021. A new combined detection algorithm for blocking and subtropical ridges. Journal of Climate, 34(18), pp.7735-7758. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-20-0658.1
- Hayward, A., Dasgupta, N., McAdam, R., Payne, M. R., Raj, R. P., Bonino, G., et al.: Marine Heat waves – Multiple Analysis / Definitions (MHW-MAD): A Multi-Definition Global Marine Heatwave Dataset from Satellite Sea Surface Temperature data, Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-590, in review, 2025.
- ObsSea4Clim Spotlight on Marine Heatwaves: https://zenodo.org/records/17063085