Research
What we study
The project
Research in the Marine Heatwaves & the Indonesian Seas program aims to understand the characteristics and long-term trends of marine heatwaves in the Indonesian Seas, and to identify the local dynamical drivers and large-scale climate forcings behind them.
Our work is organized around three broad questions. What are the spatial and temporal characteristics of marine heatwaves in this region — their frequency, intensity, duration and spatial extent? What are the long-term trends in these events under a warming climate? And what are the underlying mechanisms, both local ocean dynamics and remote climate modes, that drive their onset, maintenance and decay?
Using a combination of statistical analysis and heat budget analysis, we trace the pathways through which large-scale climate variability and regional ocean processes jointly give rise to extreme warming events in the Indonesian Seas. Across this work, a consistent theme emerges: the Indonesian Seas, situated at the nexus of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, are not a passive recipient of basin-scale warming, but a region where local dynamics and remote forcings interact in complex ways to shape the occurrence and evolution of marine heatwaves.
Four strands
From observed events to their drivers
- 01 Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of Marine Heatwaves in the Indonesian Seas How often, how long and how intensely do marine heatwaves occur across the Indonesian Seas, and how are those events distributed in space and time?
- 02 Long-term Trends of Marine Heatwaves in the Indonesian Seas Are marine heatwaves in the Indonesian Seas becoming more frequent, longer or more intense as the ocean warms?
- 03 Role of Regional Ocean Dynamical Processes Which local ocean processes — heat transport, mixing and air–sea exchange — control the onset and decay of marine heatwaves?
- 04 Remote Influences of Large-scale Climate Modes How do large-scale climate modes such as ENSO, the Indian Ocean Dipole and the monsoon modulate marine heatwave activity?