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  • '''DEFINITION''' The Strong Wave Incidence index is proposed to quantify the variability of strong wave conditions in the Iberia-Biscay-Ireland regional seas. The anomaly of exceeding a threshold of Significant Wave Height is used to characterize the wave behavior. A sensitivity test of the threshold has been performed evaluating the differences using several ones (percentiles 75, 80, 85, 90, and 95). From this indicator, it has been chosen the 90th percentile as the most representative, coinciding with the state-of-the-art. Two CMEMS products are used to compute the Strong Wave Incidence index: • IBI-WAV-MYP: IBI_REANALYSIS_WAV_005_006 • IBI-WAV-NRT: IBI_ANALYSIS_FORECAST_WAV_005_005 The Strong Wave Incidence index (SWI) is defined as the difference between the climatic frequency of exceedance (Fclim) and the observational frequency of exceedance (Fobs) of the threshold defined by the 90th percentile (ThP90) of Significant Wave Height (SWH) computed on a monthly basis from hourly data of IBI-WAV-MYP product: SWI = Fobs(SWH > ThP90) – Fclim(SWH > ThP90) Since the Strong Wave Incidence index is defined as a difference of a climatic mean and an observed value, it can be considered an anomaly. Such index represents the percentage that the stormy conditions have occurred above/below the climatic average. Thus, positive/negative values indicate the percentage of hourly data that exceed the threshold above/below the climatic average, respectively. '''CONTEXT''' Ocean waves have a high relevance over the coastal ecosystems and human activities. Extreme wave events can entail severe impacts over human infrastructures and coastal dynamics. However, the incidence of severe (90th percentile) wave events also have valuable relevance affecting the development of human activities and coastal environments. The Strong Wave Incidence index based on the CMEMS regional analysis and reanalysis product provides information on the frequency of severe wave events. The IBI-MFC covers the Europe’s Atlantic coast in a region bounded by the 26ºN and 56ºN parallels, and the 19ºW and 5ºE meridians. The western European coast is located at the end of the long fetch of the subpolar North Atlantic (Mørk et al., 2010), one of the world’s greatest wave generating regions (Folley, 2017). Several studies have analyzed changes of the ocean wave variability in the North Atlantic Ocean (Bacon and Carter, 1991; Kursnir et al., 1997; WASA Group, 1998; Bauer, 2001; Wang and Swail, 2004; Dupuis et al., 2006; Wolf and Woolf, 2006; Dodet et al., 2010; Young et al., 2011; Young and Ribal, 2019). The observed variability is composed of fluctuations ranging from the weather scale to the seasonal scale, together with long-term fluctuations on interannual to decadal scales associated with large-scale climate oscillations. Since the ocean surface state is mainly driven by wind stresses, part of this variability in Iberia-Biscay-Ireland region is connected to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index (Bacon and Carter, 1991; Hurrell, 1995; Bouws et al., 1996, Bauer, 2001; Woolf et al., 2002; Tsimplis et al., 2005; Gleeson et al., 2017). However, later studies have quantified the relationships between the wave climate and other atmospheric climate modes such as the East Atlantic pattern, the Arctic Oscillation pattern, the East Atlantic Western Russian pattern and the Scandinavian pattern (Izaguirre et al., 2011, Matínez-Asensio et al., 2016). The Strong Wave Incidence index provides information on incidence of stormy events in four monitoring regions in the IBI domain. The selected monitoring regions (Figure 1.A) are aimed to provide a summarized view of the diverse climatic conditions in the IBI regional domain: Wav1 region monitors the influence of stormy conditions in the West coast of Iberian Peninsula, Wav2 region is devoted to monitor the variability of stormy conditions in the Bay of Biscay, Wav3 region is focused in the northern half of IBI domain, this region is strongly affected by the storms transported by the subpolar front, and Wav4 is focused in the influence of marine storms in the North-East African Coast, the Gulf of Cadiz and Canary Islands. More details and a full scientific evaluation can be found in the CMEMS Ocean State report (Pascual et al., 2020). '''CMEMS KEY FINDINGS''' The analysis of the index in the last decades do not show significant trends of the strong wave conditions over the period 1992-2021 with 99% confidence. The maximum wave event reported in region WAV1 (B) occurred in February 2014, producing an increment of 25% of strong wave conditions in the region. Two maximum wave events are found in WAV2 (C) with an increment of 15% of high wave conditions in November 2009 and February 2014. As in regions WAV1 and WAV2, in the region WAV3 (D), a strong wave event took place in February 2014, this event is one of the maximum events reported in the region with an increment of strong wave conditions of 20%, two months before (December 2013) there was a storm of similar characteristics affecting this region, other events of similar magnitude are detected on October 2000 and November 2009. The region WAV4 (E) present its maximum wave event in January 1996, such event produced a 25% of increment of strong wave conditions in the region. Despite of each monitoring region is affected by independent wave events; the analysis shows several past higher-than-average wave events that were propagated though several monitoring regions: November-December 2010 (WAV3 and WAV2); February 2014 (WAV1, WAV2, and WAV3); and February-March 2018 (WAV1 and WAV4). The analysis of the NRT period (January 2022 onwards) depicts a significant event that occurred in November 2022, which affected the WAV2 and WAV3 regions, resulting in a 15% and 25% increase in maximum wave conditions, respectively. In the case of the WAV3 region, this event was the strongest event recorded in this region. In the WAV4 region, an event that occurred in February 2024 was the second most intense on record, showing an 18% increase in strong wave conditions in the region. In the WAV1 region, the NRT period includes two high-intensity events that occurred in February 2024 (21% increase in strong wave conditions) and April 2022 (18% increase in maximum wave conditions). '''Figure caption''' (A) Mean 90th percentile of Sea Wave Height computed from IBI_REANALYSIS_WAV_005_006 product at an hourly basis. Gray dotted lines denote the four monitoring areas where the Strong Wave Incidence index is computed. (B, C, D, and E) Strong Wave Incidence index averaged in monitoring regions WAV1 (A), WAV2 (B), WAV3 (C), and WAV4 (D). Panels show merged results of two CMEMS products: IBI_REANALYSIS_WAV_005_006 (blue), IBI_ANALYSIS_FORECAST_WAV_005_005 (orange). The trend and 99% confidence interval of IBI-MYP product is included (bottom right). '''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00251

  • '''DEFINITION''' The temporal evolution of thermosteric sea level in an ocean layer is obtained from an integration of temperature driven ocean density variations, which are subtracted from a reference climatology to obtain the fluctuations from an average field. The regional thermosteric sea level values are then averaged from 60°S-60°N aiming to monitor interannual to long term global sea level variations caused by temperature driven ocean volume changes through thermal expansion as expressed in meters (m). '''CONTEXT''' Most of the interannual variability and trends in regional sea level is caused by changes in steric sea level. At mid and low latitudes, the steric sea level signal is essentially due to temperature changes, i.e. the thermosteric effect (Stammer et al., 2013, Meyssignac et al., 2016). Salinity changes play only a local role. Regional trends of thermosteric sea level can be significantly larger compared to their globally averaged versions (Storto et al., 2018). Except for shallow shelf sea and high latitudes (> 60° latitude), regional thermosteric sea level variations are mostly related to ocean circulation changes, in particular in the tropics where the sea level variations and trends are the most intense over the last two decades. '''CMEMS KEY FINDINGS''' Significant (i.e. when the signal exceeds the noise) regional trends for the period 2005-2019 from the Copernicus Marine Service multi-ensemble approach show a thermosteric sea level rise at rates ranging from the global mean average up to more than 8 mm/year. There are specific regions where a negative trend is observed above noise at rates up to about -8 mm/year such as in the subpolar North Atlantic, or the western tropical Pacific. These areas are characterized by strong year-to-year variability (Dubois et al., 2018; Capotondi et al., 2020). Note: The key findings will be updated annually in November, in line with OMI evolutions. '''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00241

  • '''DEFINITION''' The time series are derived from the regional chlorophyll reprocessed (MY) product as distributed by CMEMS. This dataset, derived from multi-sensor (SeaStar-SeaWiFS, AQUA-MODIS, NOAA20-VIIRS, NPP-VIIRS, Envisat-MERIS and Sentinel3-OLCI) Rrs spectra produced by CNR using an in-house processing chain, is obtained by means of the Mediterranean Ocean Colour regional algorithms: an updated version of the MedOC4 (Case 1 (off-shore) waters, Volpe et al., 2019, with new coefficients) and AD4 (Case 2 (coastal) waters, Berthon and Zibordi, 2004). The processing chain and the techniques used for algorithms merging are detailed in Colella et al. (2023). Monthly regional mean values are calculated by performing the average of 2D monthly mean (weighted by pixel area) over the region of interest. The deseasonalized time series is obtained by applying the X-11 seasonal adjustment methodology on the original time series as described in Colella et al. (2016), and then the Mann-Kendall test (Mann, 1945; Kendall, 1975) and Sens’s method (Sen, 1968) are subsequently applied to obtain the magnitude of trend. '''CONTEXT''' Phytoplankton and chlorophyll concentration as a proxy for phytoplankton respond rapidly to changes in environmental conditions, such as light, temperature, nutrients and mixing (Colella et al. 2016). The character of the response depends on the nature of the change drivers, and ranges from seasonal cycles to decadal oscillations (Basterretxea et al. 2018). Therefore, it is of critical importance to monitor chlorophyll concentration at multiple temporal and spatial scales, in order to be able to separate potential long-term climate signals from natural variability in the short term. In particular, phytoplankton in the Mediterranean Sea is known to respond to climate variability associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) (Basterretxea et al. 2018, Colella et al. 2016). '''KEY FINDINGS''' In the Mediterranean Sea, the trend average for the 1997-2023 period is slightly negative (-0.73±0.65% per year) emphasising the results obtained from previous release (1997-2022). This result is in contrast with the analysis of Sathyendranath et al. (2018) that reveals an increasing trend in chlorophyll concentration in all the European Seas. Starting from 2010-2011, except for 2018-2019, the decrease of chlorophyll concentrations is quite evident in the deseasonalized timeseries (in green), and in the maxima of the observations (grey line), starting from 2015. This attenuation of chlorophyll values of the last decade, results in an overall negative trend for the Mediterranean Sea. '''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00259

  • '''DEFINITION''' The CMEMS IBI_OMI_seastate_extreme_var_swh_mean_and_anomaly OMI indicator is based on the computation of the annual 99th percentile of Significant Wave Height (SWH) from model data. Two different CMEMS products are used to compute the indicator: The Iberia-Biscay-Ireland Multi Year Product (IBI_MULTIYEAR_WAV_005_006) and the Analysis product (IBI_ANALYSIS_FORECAST_WAV_005_005). Two parameters have been considered for this OMI: • Map of the 99th mean percentile: It is obtained from the Multi-Year Product, the annual 99th percentile is computed for each year of the product. The percentiles are temporally averaged in the whole period (1993-2021). • Anomaly of the 99th percentile in 2022: The 99th percentile of the year 2022 is computed from the Analysis product. The anomaly is obtained by subtracting the mean percentile to the percentile in 2022. This indicator is aimed at monitoring the extremes of annual significant wave height and evaluate the spatio-temporal variability. The use of percentiles instead of annual maxima, makes this extremes study less affected by individual data. This approach was first successfully applied to sea level variable (Pérez Gómez et al., 2016) and then extended to other essential variables, such as sea surface temperature and significant wave height (Pérez Gómez et al 2018 and Álvarez-Fanjul et al., 2019). Further details and in-depth scientific evaluation can be found in the CMEMS Ocean State report (Álvarez- Fanjul et al., 2019). '''CONTEXT''' The sea state and its related spatio-temporal variability affect dramatically maritime activities and the physical connectivity between offshore waters and coastal ecosystems, impacting therefore on the biodiversity of marine protected areas (González-Marco et al., 2008; Savina et al., 2003; Hewitt, 2003). Over the last decades, significant attention has been devoted to extreme wave height events since their destructive effects in both the shoreline environment and human infrastructures have prompted a wide range of adaptation strategies to deal with natural hazards in coastal areas (Hansom et al., 2019). Complementarily, there is also an emerging question about the role of anthropogenic global climate change on present and future extreme wave conditions. The Iberia-Biscay-Ireland region, which covers the North-East Atlantic Ocean from Canary Islands to Ireland, is characterized by two different sea state wave climate regions: whereas the northern half, impacted by the North Atlantic subpolar front, is of one of the world’s greatest wave generating regions (Mørk et al., 2010; Folley, 2017), the southern half, located at subtropical latitudes, is by contrast influenced by persistent trade winds and thus by constant and moderate wave regimes. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which refers to changes in the atmospheric sea level pressure difference between the Azores and Iceland, is a significant driver of wave climate variability in the Northern Hemisphere. The influence of North Atlantic Oscillation on waves along the Atlantic coast of Europe is particularly strong in and has a major impact on northern latitudes wintertime (Martínez-Asensio et al. 2016; Bacon and Carter, 1991; Bouws et al., 1996; Bauer, 2001; Wolf et al., 2002; Gleeson et al., 2017). Swings in the North Atlantic Oscillation index produce changes in the storms track and subsequently in the wind speed and direction over the Atlantic that alter the wave regime. When North Atlantic Oscillation index is in its positive phase, storms usually track northeast of Europe and enhanced westerly winds induce higher than average waves in the northernmost Atlantic Ocean. Conversely, in the negative North Atlantic Oscillation phase, the track of the storms is more zonal and south than usual, with trade winds (mid latitude westerlies) being slower and producing higher than average waves in southern latitudes (Marshall et al., 2001; Wolf et al., 2002; Wolf and Woolf, 2006). Additionally a variety of previous studies have uniquevocally determined the relationship between the sea state variability in the IBI region and other atmospheric climate modes such as the East Atlantic pattern, the Arctic Oscillation, the East Atlantic Western Russian pattern and the Scandinavian pattern (Izaguirre et al., 2011, Martínez-Asensio et al., 2016). In this context, long‐term statistical analysis of reanalyzed model data is mandatory not only to disentangle other driving agents of wave climate but also to attempt inferring any potential trend in the number and/or intensity of extreme wave events in coastal areas with subsequent socio-economic and environmental consequences. '''CMEMS KEY FINDINGS''' The climatic mean of 99th percentile (1993-2021) reveals a north-south gradient of Significant Wave Height with the highest values in northern latitudes (above 8m) and lowest values (2-3 m) detected southeastward of Canary Islands, in the seas between Canary Islands and the African Continental Shelf. This north-south pattern is the result of the two climatic conditions prevailing in the region and previously described. The 99th percentile anomalies in 2023 show that during this period, the central latitudes of the domain (between 37 ºN and 50 ºN) were affected by extreme wave events that exceeded up to twice the standard deviation of the anomalies. These events impacted not only the open waters of the Northeastern Atlantic but also European coastal areas such as the west coast of Portugal, the Spanish Atlantic coast, and the French coast, including the English Channel. Additionally, the impact of significant wave extremes exceeding twice the standard deviation of anomalies was detected in the Mediterranean region of the Balearic Sea and the Algerian Basin. This pattern is commonly associated with the impact of intense Tramontana winds originating from storms that cross the Iberian Peninsula from the Gulf of Biscay. '''Figure caption''' Iberia-Biscay-Ireland Significant Wave Height extreme variability: Map of the 99th mean percentile computed from the Multi Year Product (left panel) and anomaly of the 99th percentile in 2022 computed from the Analysis product (right panel). Transparent grey areas (if any) represent regions where anomaly exceeds the climatic standard deviation (light grey) and twice the climatic standard deviation (dark grey). '''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00249

  • '''DEFINITION''' The CMEMS IBI_OMI_tempsal_extreme_var_temp_mean_and_anomaly OMI indicator is based on the computation of the annual 99th percentile of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) from model data. Two different CMEMS products are used to compute the indicator: The Iberia-Biscay-Ireland Multi Year Product (IBI_MULTIYEAR_PHY_005_002) and the Analysis product (IBI_ANALYSISFORECAST_PHY_005_001). Two parameters have been considered for this OMI: • Map of the 99th mean percentile: It is obtained from the Multi Year Product, the annual 99th percentile is computed for each year of the product. The percentiles are temporally averaged over the whole period (1993-2021). • Anomaly of the 99th percentile in 2022: The 99th percentile of the year 2022 is computed from the Analysis product. The anomaly is obtained by subtracting the mean percentile from the 2022 percentile. This indicator is aimed at monitoring the extremes of sea surface temperature every year and at checking their variations in space. The use of percentiles instead of annual maxima, makes this extremes study less affected by individual data. This study of extreme variability was first applied to the sea level variable (Pérez Gómez et al 2016) and then extended to other essential variables, such as sea surface temperature and significant wave height (Pérez Gómez et al 2018 and Alvarez Fanjul et al., 2019). More details and a full scientific evaluation can be found in the CMEMS Ocean State report (Alvarez Fanjul et al., 2019). '''CONTEXT''' The Sea Surface Temperature is one of the essential ocean variables, hence the monitoring of this variable is of key importance, since its variations can affect the ocean circulation, marine ecosystems, and ocean-atmosphere exchange processes. As the oceans continuously interact with the atmosphere, trends of sea surface temperature can also have an effect on the global climate. While the global-averaged sea surface temperatures have increased since the beginning of the 20th century (Hartmann et al., 2013) in the North Atlantic, anomalous cold conditions have also been reported since 2014 (Mulet et al., 2018; Dubois et al., 2018). The IBI area is a complex dynamic region with a remarkable variety of ocean physical processes and scales involved. The Sea Surface Temperature field in the region is strongly dependent on latitude, with higher values towards the South (Locarnini et al. 2013). This latitudinal gradient is supported by the presence of the eastern part of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre that transports cool water from the northern latitudes towards the equator. Additionally, the Iberia-Biscay-Ireland region is under the influence of the Sea Level Pressure dipole established between the Icelandic low and the Bermuda high. Therefore, the interannual and interdecadal variability of the surface temperature field may be influenced by the North Atlantic Oscillation pattern (Czaja and Frankignoul, 2002; Flatau et al., 2003). Also relevant in the region are the upwelling processes taking place in the coastal margins. The most referenced one is the eastern boundary coastal upwelling system off the African and western Iberian coast (Sotillo et al., 2016), although other smaller upwelling systems have also been described in the northern coast of the Iberian Peninsula (Alvarez et al., 2011), the south-western Irish coast (Edwars et al., 1996) and the European Continental Slope (Dickson, 1980). '''CMEMS KEY FINDINGS''' In the IBI region, the 99th mean percentile for 1993-2021 shows a north-south pattern driven by the climatological distribution of temperatures in the North Atlantic. In the coastal regions of Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, the mean values are influenced by the upwelling processes (Sotillo et al., 2016). These results are consistent with the ones presented in Álvarez Fanjul (2019) for the period 1993-2016. The analysis of the 99th percentile anomaly in the year 2023 shows that this period has been affected by a severe impact of maximum SST values. Anomalies exceeding the standard deviation affect almost the entire IBI domain, and regions impacted by thermal anomalies surpassing twice the standard deviation are also widespread below the 43ºN parallel. Extreme SST values exceeding twice the standard deviation affect not only the open ocean waters but also the easter boundary upwelling areas such as the northern half of Portugal, the Spanish Atlantic coast up to Cape Ortegal, and the African coast south of Cape Aguer. It is worth noting the impact of anomalies that exceed twice the standard deviation is widespread throughout the entire Mediterranean region included in this analysis. '''Figure caption''' Iberia-Biscay-Ireland Surface Temperature extreme variability: Map of the 99th mean percentile computed from the Multi Year Product (left panel) and anomaly of the 99th percentile in 2022 computed from the Analysis product (right panel). Transparent grey areas (if any) represent regions where anomaly exceeds the climatic standard deviation (light grey) and twice the climatic standard deviation (dark grey). '''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00254

  • '''DEFINITION''' Estimates of Ocean Heat Content (OHC) are obtained from integrated differences of the measured temperature and a climatology along a vertical profile in the ocean (von Schuckmann et al., 2018). The regional OHC values are then averaged from 60°S-60°N aiming i) to obtain the mean OHC as expressed in Joules per meter square (J/m2) to monitor the large-scale variability and change. ii) to monitor the amount of energy in the form of heat stored in the ocean (i.e. the change of OHC in time), expressed in Watt per square meter (W/m2). Ocean heat content is one of the six Global Climate Indicators recommended by the World Meterological Organisation for Sustainable Development Goal 13 implementation (WMO, 2017). '''CONTEXT''' Knowing how much and where heat energy is stored and released in the ocean is essential for understanding the contemporary Earth system state, variability and change, as the ocean shapes our perspectives for the future (von Schuckmann et al., 2020). Variations in OHC can induce changes in ocean stratification, currents, sea ice and ice shelfs (IPCC, 2019; 2021); they set time scales and dominate Earth system adjustments to climate variability and change (Hansen et al., 2011); they are a key player in ocean-atmosphere interactions and sea level change (WCRP, 2018) and they can impact marine ecosystems and human livelihoods (IPCC, 2019). '''CMEMS KEY FINDINGS''' Since the year 2005, the upper (0-700m) near-global (60°S-60°N) ocean warms at a rate of 0.6 ± 0.1 W/m2. Note: The key findings will be updated annually in November, in line with OMI evolutions. '''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00234

  • '''DEFINITION''' The linear change of zonal mean subsurface temperature over the period 1993-2019 at each grid point (in depth and latitude) is evaluated to obtain a global mean depth-latitude plot of subsurface temperature trend, expressed in °C. The linear change is computed using the slope of the linear regression at each grid point scaled by the number of time steps (27 years, 1993-2019). A multi-product approach is used, meaning that the linear change is first computed for 5 different zonal mean temperature estimates. The average linear change is then computed, as well as the standard deviation between the five linear change computations. The evaluation method relies in the study of the consistency in between the 5 different estimates, which provides a qualitative estimate of the robustness of the indicator. See Mulet et al. (2018) for more details. '''CONTEXT''' Large-scale temperature variations in the upper layers are mainly related to the heat exchange with the atmosphere and surrounding oceanic regions, while the deeper ocean temperature in the main thermocline and below varies due to many dynamical forcing mechanisms (Bindoff et al., 2019). Together with ocean acidification and deoxygenation (IPCC, 2019), ocean warming can lead to dramatic changes in ecosystem assemblages, biodiversity, population extinctions, coral bleaching and infectious disease, change in behavior (including reproduction), as well as redistribution of habitat (e.g. Gattuso et al., 2015, Molinos et al., 2016, Ramirez et al., 2017). Ocean warming also intensifies tropical cyclones (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2018; Trenberth et al., 2018; Sun et al., 2017). '''CMEMS KEY FINDINGS''' The results show an overall ocean warming of the upper global ocean over the period 1993-2019, particularly in the upper 300m depth. In some areas, this warming signal reaches down to about 800m depth such as for example in the Southern Ocean south of 40°S. In other areas, the signal-to-noise ratio in the deeper ocean layers is less than two, i.e. the different products used for the ensemble mean show weak agreement. However, interannual-to-decadal fluctuations are superposed on the warming signal, and can interfere with the warming trend. For example, in the subpolar North Atlantic decadal variations such as the so called ‘cold event’ prevail (Dubois et al., 2018; Gourrion et al., 2018), and the cumulative trend over a quarter of a decade does not exceed twice the noise level below about 100m depth. Note: The key findings will be updated annually in November, in line with OMI evolutions. '''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00244

  • '''DEFINITION''' The temporal evolution of thermosteric sea level in an ocean layer is obtained from an integration of temperature driven ocean density variations, which are subtracted from a reference climatology to obtain the fluctuations from an average field. The regional thermosteric sea level values are then averaged from 60°S-60°N aiming to monitor interannual to long term global sea level variations caused by temperature driven ocean volume changes through thermal expansion as expressed in meters (m). '''CONTEXT''' The global mean sea level is reflecting changes in the Earth’s climate system in response to natural and anthropogenic forcing factors such as ocean warming, land ice mass loss and changes in water storage in continental river basins. Thermosteric sea-level variations result from temperature related density changes in sea water associated with volume expansion and contraction. Global thermosteric sea level rise caused by ocean warming is known as one of the major drivers of contemporary global mean sea level rise (Cazenave et al., 2018; Oppenheimer et al., 2019). '''CMEMS KEY FINDINGS''' Since the year 2005 the upper (0-2000m) near-global (60°S-60°N) thermosteric sea level rises at a rate of 1.3±0.2 mm/year. Note: The key findings will be updated annually in November, in line with OMI evolutions. '''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00240

  • '''DEFINITION''' The sea level ocean monitoring indicator is derived from the DUACS delayed-time (DT-2021 version, “my” (multi-year) dataset used when available, “myint” (multi-year interim) used after) sea level anomaly maps from satellite altimetry based on a stable number of altimeters (two) in the satellite constellation. The product is distributed by the Copernicus Climate Change Service and the Copernicus Marine Service (SEALEVEL_GLO_PHY_CLIMATE_L4_MY_008_057). At each grid point, the trends/accelerations are estimated on the time series corrected from global TOPEX-A instrumental drift (WCRP Global Sea Level Budget Group, 2018) and regional GIA correction (GIA map of a 27 ensemble model following Spada et Melini, 2019) and adjusted from annual and semi-annual signals. Regional uncertainties on the trends estimates can be found in Prandi et al., 2021. '''CONTEXT''' Change in mean sea level is an essential indicator of our evolving climate, as it reflects both the thermal expansion of the ocean in response to its warming and the increase in ocean mass due to the melting of ice sheets and glaciers(WCRP Global Sea Level Budget Group, 2018). According to the IPCC 6th assessment report (IPCC WGI, 2021), global mean sea level (GMSL) increased by 0.20 [0.15 to 0.25] m over the period 1901 to 2018 with a rate of rise that has accelerated since the 1960s to 3.7 [3.2 to 4.2] mm/yr for the period 2006–2018. Human activity was very likely the main driver of observed GMSL rise since 1970 (IPCC WGII, 2021). The weight of the different contributions evolves with time and in the recent decades the mass change has increased, contributing to the on-going acceleration of the GMSL trend (IPCC, 2022a; Legeais et al., 2020; Horwath et al., 2022). At regional scale, sea level does not change homogenously, and regional sea level change is also influenced by various other processes, with different spatial and temporal scales, such as local ocean dynamic, atmospheric forcing, Earth gravity and vertical land motion changes (IPCC WGI, 2021). The adverse effects of floods, storms and tropical cyclones, and the resulting losses and damage, have increased as a result of rising sea levels, increasing people and infrastructure vulnerability and food security risks, particularly in low-lying areas and island states (IPCC, 2019, 2022b). Adaptation and mitigation measures such as the restoration of mangroves and coastal wetlands, reduce the risks from sea level rise (IPCC, 2022c). '''KEY FINDINGS''' The altimeter sea level trends over the [1993/01/01, 2023/07/06] period exhibit large-scale variations with trends up to +10 mm/yr in regions such as the western tropical Pacific Ocean. In this area, trends are mainly of thermosteric origin (Legeais et al., 2018; Meyssignac et al., 2017) in response to increased easterly winds during the last two decades associated with the decreasing Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO)/Pacific Decadal Oscillation (e.g., McGregor et al., 2012; Merrifield et al., 2012; Palanisamy et al., 2015; Rietbroek et al., 2016). Prandi et al. (2021) have estimated a regional altimeter sea level error budget from which they determine a regional error variance-covariance matrix and they provide uncertainties of the regional sea level trends. Over 1993-2019, the averaged local sea level trend uncertainty is around 0.83 mm/yr with local values ranging from 0.78 to 1.22 mm/yr. '''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00238

  • '''DEFINITION''' The time series are derived from the regional chlorophyll reprocessed (REP) products as distributed by CMEMS which, in turn, result from the application of the regional chlorophyll algorithms over remote sensing reflectances (Rrs) provided by the ESA Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (ESA OC-CCI, Sathyendranath et al. 2019; Jackson 2020). Daily regional mean values are calculated by performing the average (weighted by pixel area) over the region of interest. A fixed annual cycle is extracted from the original signal, using the Census-I method as described in Vantrepotte et al. (2009). The deseasonalised time series is derived by subtracting the mean seasonal cycle from the original time series, and then fitted to a linear regression to, finally, obtain the linear trend. '''CONTEXT''' Phytoplankton – and chlorophyll concentration as a proxy for phytoplankton – respond rapidly to changes in environmental conditions, such as temperature, light and nutrients availability, and mixing. The response in the North Atlantic ranges from cyclical to decadal oscillations (Henson et al., 2009); it is therefore of critical importance to monitor chlorophyll concentration at multiple temporal and spatial scales, in order to be able to separate potential long-term climate signals from natural variability in the short term. In particular, phytoplankton in the North Atlantic are known to respond to climate variability associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), with the initiation of the spring bloom showing a nominal correlation with sea surface temperature and the NAO index (Zhai et al., 2013). '''CMEMS KEY FINDINGS''' While the overall trend average for the 1997-2021 period in the North Atlantic Ocean is slightly positive (0.16 ± 0.12 % per year), an underlying low frequency harmonic signal can be seen in the deseasonalised data. The annual average for the region in 2021 is 0.25 mg m-3. Though no appreciable changes in the timing of the spring and autumn blooms have been observed during 2021, a lower peak chlorophyll concentration is observed in the timeseries extension. This decrease in peak concentration with respect to the previous year is contributing to the reduction trend. '''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00194