Carbon News
  • Members
    • Login
      Forgot Password?
    • Not a member? Subscribe
    • Forgot Password
      Back to Login
    • Not a member? Subscribe
  • Home
  • New Zealand
    • Politics
    • Energy
    • Agriculture
    • Carbon emissions
    • Transport
    • Forestry
    • Business
  • Markets
    • Analysis
    • NZ carbon price
  • International
    • Australia
    • United States
    • China
    • Europe
    • United Kingdom
    • Canada
    • Asia
    • Pacific
    • Antarctic/Arctic
    • Africa
    • South America
    • United Nations
  • News Direct
    • Media releases
    • Climate calendar
  • About Carbon News
    • Contact us
    • Advertising
    • Subscribe
    • Service
    • Policies

Historic data reveals unprecedented heatwaves

13 Mar 2024


Media release - A thermometer dipped in a bucket of sea water on New Year’s Day in 1967 began a unique record which shows the dramatic intensification of warming in the Hauraki Gulf.

Sea-surface readings at the Leigh Marine Laboratory north of Auckland since that time indicate the “unprecedented nature of recent marine heatwaves,” according to Dr Nick Shears of the University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau.

 

The number of marine heatwave days and their cumulative intensity has increased sharply since 2012, Shears and his co-authors write in a paper published in the New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research.

 

In past decades, some years had no heatwaves, but that hasn’t happened since 2012.

 

Sponges `melting,’ becoming detached from rocks and dying, along with seaweed and kelp die-offs, are among temperature effects.

 

Especially warm autumns and winters have likely facilitated an increase in subtropical and tropical species such as the long-spined sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii, a voracious herbivore which can lay waste to deep reef environments.

 

“Obviously we need to cut emissions to slow warming, and that’s a global issue, but locally we can try to make ecosystems more resilient,” says Shears. “There are stressors we can manage, like fishing, or do our best to mitigate, like sediment runoff from the land.”

 

The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate phenomenon causes atmospheric and sea temperature changes over the tropical Pacific Ocean, flowing through to altered climate and weather conditions in New Zealand.

 

Traditionally El Niño years were associated with lower sea surface temperatures at Leigh but that didn’t happen in 2023, the fourth warmest year in the record, suggesting the link could be weaking as the climate system changes.

 

“It seems that every year is another warm year regardless of whether it’s an El Niño or not,” says Shears.

 

The warmest year on record is 2022, which was 0.38 degrees Celsius higher than in 1999, the previous record holder. Near continuous marine heatwave conditions persisted from November 2021 to November 2022 with temperatures typically between 1 and 2 degrees Celsius above average.

 

Prolonged warm temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius are now sometimes continuing until May. Cooler water species like sponges aren’t getting an autumn respite, benefiting warm water species that naturally occur or have arrived in recent times such as the invasive and devastating Caulerpa seaweed.

 

The Leigh Marine Laboratory is located at the much-loved snorkelling and diving destination of Goat Island (Te Hāwere-a-Maki), which is part of the Cape Rodney-Okakari Point marine reserve where no fishing is allowed.

 

Dr Bill Ballantine, known as the father of New Zealand’s marine reserves, started the practice of taking a temperature reading on the rocky shore at Leigh at 9am each day.

 

The resulting data, later collected automatically by electronic device, is one of the longest continuous sea-surface records in the Southern Hemisphere, adding nuance and context to satellite readings since 1982.

 

Co-authors of the paper were Dr Melissa Bown of the School of Environment at the University of Auckland, and François Thoral of the University of Waikato and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.

 

In February, the world’s ocean surface temperatures hit an all-time high. Most of the energy trapped by greenhouse gases goes into the sea.

 

The definition of a marine heatwave is an event where temperatures exceed the 90th percentile of 30-year historic values (1983-2012) for five or more days in a row.

print this story


Related Topics:   Greenhouse Effect

More >
Media releases
More >

Biodiversity plan is ‘light on detail and heavy on vague intentions’

Today 10:30am

Media Release - WWF New Zealand | The government’s plan to tackle Aotearoa New Zealand’s biodiversity crisis lacks ambition and fails to match the scale and urgency of the challenge.

Gas decline increases urgency for new electricity generation

Today 10:30am

Media release – Transpower | Declining gas availability means New Zealand has to lift the pace at which it is delivering new electricity generation to reliably meet growing demand over the coming years, a new report from Transpower shows.

Hopeful new way to measure human progress

Mon 30 Jun 2025

Media release - University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau | In response to the climate crisis, a new way to measure how well people and nature are living together has been announced in the world's leading scientific journal Nature.

Sustainability rising in importance amid increasing strain on professionals

Thu 26 Jun 2025

Media release - Sustainable Business Council | Research released today into New Zealand’s sustainability profession reveals a compelling picture of a profession which is gaining strategic traction, while grappling with systemic challenges.

Most staple food crop production will face big losses due to climate change

Wed 25 Jun 2025

Media Release – Springer Nature | Most staple food crops are expected to experience substantial production losses due to climate change, even when mitigation measures to limit the impact of climate change are considered.

Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'

24 Jun 2025

Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.

Global survey finds 8 out of 10 people support taxing oil and gas corporations to pay for climate damages

23 Jun 2025

Media Release – Oxfam Aotearoa | Oxfam's research finds that 585 of the world's largest and most polluting fossil fuel companies made $583 billion in profits in 2024, a 68% increase since 2019.

Kiwi farmers unaware of positive public opinion on their environmental performance

19 Jun 2025

Media Release | Close to 90% of NZ's commercial farmers believe their environmental performance is good, according to a survey of almost 3000 farmers, while less than half that number think the public agrees.

Aviation sector’s climate claims unsupported by credible transition plans

18 Jun 2025

Media Release | New analysis finds over-reliance on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and lack of investment in zero-emission tech, risking long-term decarbonisation failure.

Government undermines regional powers to protect coastal biodiversity

16 Jun 2025

Media Release | The Environmental Defence Society opposes the Government’s decision to press ahead with amendments to the Resource Management Act that severely curtail the ability of regional councils to manage the impacts of fishing on coastal marine biodiversity.

Carbon News

Subscriptions, Advertising & General

[email protected]

Editorial

[email protected]

We welcome comments, news tips and suggestions - please also use this address to submit all media releases for News Direct).

Useful Links
Home About Carbon News Contact us Advertising Subscribe Service Policies
New Zealand
Politics Energy Agriculture Carbon emissions Transport Forestry Business
International
Australia United States China Europe United Kingdom Canada Asia Pacific Antarctic/Arctic Africa South America United Nations
Home
Markets
Analysis NZ carbon price
News Direct
Media releases Climate calendar

© 2008-2025 Carbon News. All Rights Reserved. • Your IP Address: 216.73.216.119 • User account: Sign In

Please wait...
Audit log: