40 priority questions to advance understanding of the risks and opportunities of UK marine heatwaves

Zoe Jacobs; Kathryn E. Smith; Jules B. Kajtar; Dan A. Smale; Pippa J. Moore; Fabrice Stephenson; Michael T. Burrows; Caroline Rowland; Richard Renshaw; Sophy Oliver; Martyn Jakins-Pollard; Freya Ivy Palmer; Alice Kloker; Craig Baker-Austin; Bryony Townhill; Sian Rees; Sarah Coulthard; Ekaterina Popova

doi:10.1038/s44183-025-00171-0

40 priority questions to advance understanding of the risks and opportunities of UK marine heatwaves

Zoe Jacobs
, Kathryn E. Smith
, Jules B. Kajtar
, Dan A. Smale
, Pippa J. Moore
, Fabrice Stephenson
, Michael T. Burrows
, Caroline Rowland
, Richard Renshaw
, Sophy Oliver
, Martyn Jakins-Pollard
, Freya Ivy Palmer
, Alice Kloker
, Craig Baker-Austin
, Bryony Townhill
, Sian Rees
, Sarah Coulthard
, Ekaterina Popova

SAMS UHI

Resultado de pesquisa: Article › revisão de pares

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Resumo

Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are periods of anomalously warm sea temperatures that are becoming increasingly recognised as ocean stressors. Globally, MHWs have impacted marine ecosystems, with significant socioeconomic implications for coastal communities and industries. The unprecedented MHW that occurred in the waters surrounding the UK and Ireland in summer 2023 highlighted a crucial gap in our understanding of the region-specific characteristics of MHWs and their impacts on marine ecosystems, the services they underpin, the blue economy and society. Using diverse expert opinion, we propose 40 priority questions for interdisciplinary research in the UK that must urgently be addressed to prepare for future risks and potential opportunities associated with MHWs. The targeted questions are listed under a broad range of themes. Recommendations to policy makers and those influencing the strategic direction and allocation of funding and resources are also suggested to assist decision-makers towards evidence-based action and guide funding streams.

Idioma original	English
Número do artigo	1 (2026)
Número de páginas	13
Revista	npj Ocean Sustainability
Volume	5
Número de emissão	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-025-00171-0
Estado da publicação	Published - 17 dez. 2025

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10.1038/s44183-025-00171-0Licença: CC BY

40 priority questions to advance understanding of the risks and opportunities of UK marine heatwaves
© The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Final published version, 1,87 MBLicença: CC BY

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44183-025-00171-0Licença: CC BY

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Jacobs, Z., Smith, K. E., Kajtar, J. B., Smale, D. A., Moore, P. J., Stephenson, F., Burrows, M. T., Rowland, C., Renshaw, R., Oliver, S., Jakins-Pollard, M., Palmer, F. I., Kloker, A., Baker-Austin, C., Townhill, B., Rees, S., Coulthard, S., & Popova, E. (2025). 40 priority questions to advance understanding of the risks and opportunities of UK marine heatwaves. npj Ocean Sustainability, 5(1), Artigo 1 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-025-00171-0

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abstract = "Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are periods of anomalously warm sea temperatures that are becoming increasingly recognised as ocean stressors. Globally, MHWs have impacted marine ecosystems, with significant socioeconomic implications for coastal communities and industries. The unprecedented MHW that occurred in the waters surrounding the UK and Ireland in summer 2023 highlighted a crucial gap in our understanding of the region-specific characteristics of MHWs and their impacts on marine ecosystems, the services they underpin, the blue economy and society. Using diverse expert opinion, we propose 40 priority questions for interdisciplinary research in the UK that must urgently be addressed to prepare for future risks and potential opportunities associated with MHWs. The targeted questions are listed under a broad range of themes. Recommendations to policy makers and those influencing the strategic direction and allocation of funding and resources are also suggested to assist decision-makers towards evidence-based action and guide funding streams.",

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Jacobs, Z, Smith, KE, Kajtar, JB, Smale, DA, Moore, PJ, Stephenson, F, Burrows, MT, Rowland, C, Renshaw, R, Oliver, S, Jakins-Pollard, M, Palmer, FI, Kloker, A, Baker-Austin, C, Townhill, B, Rees, S, Coulthard, S & Popova, E 2025, '40 priority questions to advance understanding of the risks and opportunities of UK marine heatwaves', npj Ocean Sustainability, vol. 5, n.º 1, 1 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-025-00171-0

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AU - Jacobs, Zoe

AU - Smith, Kathryn E.

AU - Kajtar, Jules B.

AU - Smale, Dan A.

AU - Moore, Pippa J.

AU - Stephenson, Fabrice

AU - Burrows, Michael T.

AU - Rowland, Caroline

AU - Renshaw, Richard

AU - Oliver, Sophy

AU - Jakins-Pollard, Martyn

AU - Palmer, Freya Ivy

AU - Kloker, Alice

AU - Baker-Austin, Craig

AU - Townhill, Bryony

AU - Rees, Sian

AU - Coulthard, Sarah

AU - Popova, Ekaterina

N1 - © The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

PY - 2025/12/17

Y1 - 2025/12/17

N2 - Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are periods of anomalously warm sea temperatures that are becoming increasingly recognised as ocean stressors. Globally, MHWs have impacted marine ecosystems, with significant socioeconomic implications for coastal communities and industries. The unprecedented MHW that occurred in the waters surrounding the UK and Ireland in summer 2023 highlighted a crucial gap in our understanding of the region-specific characteristics of MHWs and their impacts on marine ecosystems, the services they underpin, the blue economy and society. Using diverse expert opinion, we propose 40 priority questions for interdisciplinary research in the UK that must urgently be addressed to prepare for future risks and potential opportunities associated with MHWs. The targeted questions are listed under a broad range of themes. Recommendations to policy makers and those influencing the strategic direction and allocation of funding and resources are also suggested to assist decision-makers towards evidence-based action and guide funding streams.

AB - Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are periods of anomalously warm sea temperatures that are becoming increasingly recognised as ocean stressors. Globally, MHWs have impacted marine ecosystems, with significant socioeconomic implications for coastal communities and industries. The unprecedented MHW that occurred in the waters surrounding the UK and Ireland in summer 2023 highlighted a crucial gap in our understanding of the region-specific characteristics of MHWs and their impacts on marine ecosystems, the services they underpin, the blue economy and society. Using diverse expert opinion, we propose 40 priority questions for interdisciplinary research in the UK that must urgently be addressed to prepare for future risks and potential opportunities associated with MHWs. The targeted questions are listed under a broad range of themes. Recommendations to policy makers and those influencing the strategic direction and allocation of funding and resources are also suggested to assist decision-makers towards evidence-based action and guide funding streams.

KW - environmental studies

KW - ocean sciences

KW - physical oceanography

U2 - 10.1038/s44183-025-00171-0

DO - 10.1038/s44183-025-00171-0

M3 - Article

VL - 5

JO - npj Ocean Sustainability

JF - npj Ocean Sustainability

IS - 1

M1 - 1 (2026)

ER -

40 priority questions to advance understanding of the risks and opportunities of UK marine heatwaves

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