Western Australia Marine Heatwave Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies, 2010-2011

Parks Australia provides a record of the 2010/2011 austral summer marine heatwave off Western Australia. Satellite-derived sea surface temperature anomalies peaked at 3°C above average over a wide coastal area, with in-situ moorings recording nearshore peaks of ~5°C above average. The dataset highlights research relevant to Australian Marine Parks, originally published via the Australian Marine Parks Science Atlas.

Use Cases

• Modeling marine heatwave intensity and duration based on described temperature anomalies.
• Analyzing the relationship between ocean currents (Leeuwin Current) and extreme temperature events.
• Studying biological impacts like fish kills and species range extensions mentioned in the description.
• Investigating the combined climatic drivers (La Niña, air-sea heat flux) of the recorded thermal event.

Strengths

• Describes specific, quantified temperature anomalies: 3°C SST anomaly over a wide area and ~5°C nearshore peaks.
• Combines satellite-derived data with in-situ hourly measurements from mooring sites.
• Documents an unprecedented thermal event with clear temporal (summer 2010/2011) and spatial (Ningaloo to Cape Leeuwin) context.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic/temporal bias inherent to the specific event and data_gov_au source.

Provenance

Source

Parks Australia, referencing a source publication.

Collection Method

Likely combines satellite-derived sea surface temperature data and in-situ hourly temperature measurements from moorings.

Time Range

Austral summer of 2010/2011, with peak anomalies in February and early March 2011.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-15 03:07:41.119782; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Western Australian coast from Ningaloo (22°S) to Cape Leeuwin (34°S), extending over 200 km offshore.