Marine heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense, with significant implications for marine ecosystems, fisheries, tourism, and coastal communities across the Mediterranean.

A new study in Ocean Science journal, led by ObsSea4Clim colleagues, assesses whether high-resolution regional climate models provide a better representation of sea surface temperatures and marine heatwaves than the global climate models that drive them.

The results show that regional models generally improve the representation of:
✅ Sea surface temperature patterns, particularly in coastal and semi-enclosed areas
✅ Marine heatwave duration, including short-lived events

However, improvements in marine heatwave intensity are less consistent across models. The study highlights that higher spatial resolution alone is not enough to accurately capture marine heatwaves and advances in other model components are also needed to fully realize the benefits of regional downscaling.

These findings are important for strengthening climate information and improving our understanding of extreme ocean warming events in a region highly vulnerable to climate change.

📖 Read the full article: https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-2725-2026

Cite: De Rovere, F., Bonino, G., McAdam, R., Scoccimarro, E., Somot, S., Parras-Berrocal, I. M., Ahrens, B., Djurdjevic, V., Li, L., and Masina, S.: The added value of Med-CORDEX coupled high-resolution regional climate models in representing sea surface temperature and marine heatwaves in the Mediterranean Sea, Ocean Sci., 22, 2725–2742, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-2725-2026, 2026.