Thèses

Long-term study of the MHWs in the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea:
an assessment of their trends, drivers, and their early indicators
Manal Hamdeno ELAWADY (GHER)

Amphithéâtre 142, Petits Amphithéâtres - Galerie des Arts
Bâtiment B7b, Quartier Agora, Allée du 6 Août, 15, B-4000 Liège 1 (Sart-Tilman)

Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are intensifying under climate change and are a major driver of ocean variability and ecosystem stress. This thesis analyzes MHW dynamics in the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea (1982-2024), showing increasing frequency, duration, and intensity, with strong regional contrasts linked to basin structure. Our results show that MHWs are driven by the interaction between long-term warming, atmospheric forcing, and oceanic processes, and extend below the surface, creating subsurface heat storage and ocean memory. Their impacts include enhanced stratification, reduced nutrient supply, decreased productivity, and direct thermal stress on marine organisms. In addition, compound events and interactions with atmospheric heatwaves amplify their intensity and persistence, and interactions with Medicanes show a two-way of impacts, highlighting that MHWs are complex, vertically structured, and coupled ocean-atmosphere extremes.