title: Three decades of high-resolution coastal sea surface temperatures reveal more than warming.
abstract: Understanding and forecasting current and future consequences of coastal warming require a fine-scale assessment of the near-shore temperature changes. Here we show that despite the fact that 71% of the world's coastlines are significantly warming, rates of change have been highly heterogeneous both spatially and seasonally. We demonstrate that 46% of the coastlines have experienced a significant decrease in the frequency of extremely cold events, while extremely hot days are becoming more common in 38% of the area. Also, we show that the onset of the warm season is significantly advancing earlier in the year in 36% of the temperate coastal regions. More importantly, it is now possible to analyse local patterns within the global context, which is useful for a broad array of scientific fields, policy makers and general public.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, 701 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. fplima@biol.sc.edu
authors.forename: Fernando P
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Wethey
mesh_terms: D059001:Aquatic Organisms; D057231:Climate Change; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D005544:Forecasting; D057232:Global Warming; D006358:Hot Temperature; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011640:Public Policy; D012621:Seasons; D012623:Seawater; D014887:Weather