Articles | Volume 7-osr10
https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-7-osr10-3-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-7-osr10-3-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Ocean change in Small Island Developing States
Flora Gues
CELAD, 48 Rte de Lavaur, 31130 Balma, France
Karina von Schuckmann
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Mercator Ocean international, 2 Avenue de l'Aérodrome de Montaudran, 31400 Toulouse, France
Mahé Butel
Mercator Ocean international, 2 Avenue de l'Aérodrome de Montaudran, 31400 Toulouse, France
Samantha Hallam
Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland
Alvaro de Pascual
Nologin Oceanic Weather Systems, Paseo de la Castellana 216, 28046 Madrid, Spain
Axel Alonso Valle
Nologin Oceanic Weather Systems, Paseo de la Castellana 216, 28046 Madrid, Spain
Aurélien Liné
Mercator Ocean international, 2 Avenue de l'Aérodrome de Montaudran, 31400 Toulouse, France
Lorena Moreira Mendez
Nologin Oceanic Weather Systems, Paseo de la Castellana 216, 28046 Madrid, Spain
Related authors
Karina von Schuckmann, Lorena Moreira, Mathilde Cancet, Flora Gues, Emmanuelle Autret, Jonathan Baker, Clément Bricaud, Romain Bourdalle-Badie, Lluis Castrillo, Lijing Cheng, Frederic Chevallier, Daniele Ciani, Alvaro de Pascual-Collar, Vincenzo De Toma, Marie Drevillon, Claudia Fanelli, Gilles Garric, Marion Gehlen, Rianne Giesen, Kevin Hodges, Doroteaciro Iovino, Simon Jandt-Scheelke, Eric Jansen, Melanie Juza, Ioanna Karagali, Thomas Lavergne, Simona Masina, Ronan McAdam, Audrey Minière, Helen Morrison, Tabea Rebekka Panteleit, Andrea Pisano, Marie-Isabelle Pujol, Ad Stoffelen, Sulian Thual, Simon Van Gennip, Pierre Veillard, Chunxue Yang, and Hao Zuo
State Planet, 4-osr8, 1, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-4-osr8-1-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-4-osr8-1-2024, 2024
Karina von Schuckmann, Lorena Moreira, Mathilde Cancet, Flora Gues, Emmanuelle Autret, Ali Aydogdu, Lluis Castrillo, Daniele Ciani, Andrea Cipollone, Emanuela Clementi, Gianpiero Cossarini, Alvaro de Pascual-Collar, Vincenzo De Toma, Marion Gehlen, Rianne Giesen, Marie Drevillon, Claudia Fanelli, Kevin Hodges, Simon Jandt-Scheelke, Eric Jansen, Melanie Juza, Ioanna Karagali, Priidik Lagemaa, Vidar Lien, Leonardo Lima, Vladyslav Lyubartsev, Ilja Maljutenko, Simona Masina, Ronan McAdam, Pietro Miraglio, Helen Morrison, Tabea Rebekka Panteleit, Andrea Pisano, Marie-Isabelle Pujol, Urmas Raudsepp, Roshin Raj, Ad Stoffelen, Simon Van Gennip, Pierre Veillard, and Chunxue Yang
State Planet, 4-osr8, 2, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-4-osr8-2-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-4-osr8-2-2024, 2024
Karina von Schuckmann, Flora Gues, Mahé Butel, Gilles Garric, Alvaro de Pascual, Axel Alonso Valle, Aurélien Liné, and Lorena Moreira Mendez
State Planet, 7-osr10, 2, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-7-osr10-2-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-7-osr10-2-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
The polar ocean narrative integrates physical, ecological, and societal indicators and shows amplified warming, sea ice loss, and compound change for coastal erosion in the Arctic. Indicators in the Antarctic illustrate an international governance challenge, where biodiversity protection requires both conservation and global mitigation. Together, these examples show that polar ocean change is not a collection of isolated environmental trends, but undergoes an interconnected transformation.
Álvaro de Pascual Collar, Axel Alonso Valle, Alex Gallardo, Marta de Alfonso Alonso-Muñoyerro, Begoña Pérez Gómez, Stefania Ciliberti, and Marcos G. Sotillo
State Planet, 7-osr10, 7, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-7-osr10-7-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-7-osr10-7-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
This study improves the monitoring of extreme sea surface temperature events in the Iberia–Biscay–Ireland region. We tested new data sources and combined information from different models and satellites to provide more consistent results and characterize inter-product spread. The findings show that these methods make the indicator more reliable and useful for supporting climate and ocean management decisions.
Catherine O'Beirne, Gerard D. McCarthy, and Samantha Hallam
State Planet Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-2026-13, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-2026-13, 2026
Preprint under review for SP
Short summary
Short summary
Sea surface temperature is an important measure of climate change, warming rates are uneven depending on where you are in the world. This study satellite data with direct sea temperature measurements across Irish waters. Both showed similar long-term trends, especially offshore, but coastal measurements revealed stronger seasonal changes and warmer extreme events. Temperatures within 12 nautical miles of the coast provide the best overall picture of change.
Piers M. Forster, Tristram Walsh, Chris Smith, William F. Lamb, Robin Lamboll, Christophe Cassou, Mathias Hauser, Zeke Hausfather, June-Yi Lee, Matthew D. Palmer, Karina von Schuckmann, Aimée B. A. Slangen, Sophie Szopa, Blair Trewin, Jeongeun Yun, Nathan P. Gillett, Stuart Jenkins, H. Damon Matthews, Krishnan Raghavan, Aurélien Ribes, Joeri Rogelj, Debbie Rosen, Xuebin Zhang, Myles Allen, Robbie M. Andrew, Chris Atkinson, Richard A. Betts, Antonio Bombelli, Samantha N. Burgess, Lijing Cheng, Helen E. Claxton, Pierre Friedlingstein, Thomas L. Frölicher, Catia M. Domingues, Thomas Gasser, Catherine H. Gregory, Rachel M. Hoesly, Daniel Huppmann, Masayoshi Ishii, Christopher Kadow, Alexia Karwat, John Kennedy, Rachel E. Killick, Mahesh V. M. Kovilakam, Paul B. Krummel, Xin Lan, Jean-François Lamarque, Aurélien Liné, Belén Martín-Míguez, Didier P. Monselesan, Colin Morice, Jens Mühle, Pino Mussak, Glen P. Peters, Anna Pirani, Julia Pongratz, Matthew Rigby, Robert Rohde, Abhishek Savita, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Steven J. Smith, Ghassan Taha, Caterina Tassone, Peter Thorne, Christopher Wells, Luke M. Western, Guido R. van der Werf, Susan E. Wijffels, Marco Zecchetto, Junting Zhong, Xiao-Ye Zhang, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, and Panmao Zhai
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 18, 3889–3933, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-3889-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-3889-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
We give our annual update of key climate indicators. Our work quantifies the human contribution to global warming and the pace of climate change. This represents a large effort by the international community akin to an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.
Marina Lévy, Karina von Schuckmann, Mahé Butel, William W. L. Cheung, Joachim Claudet, Thomas L. Frölicher, Patrice Guillotreau, Peter Haugan, Janine Adams, Diva Amon, Tamatoa Bambridge, Cynthia Barzuna, Bruno Blanke, Lijing Cheng, Sanae Chiba, Jorge Cortés, Pierre Friedlingstein, Jean-Pierre Gattuso, Stefan Gelcich, Jessica Gephart, Deborah Greaves, Audrey Hasson, Claire Jolly, Daoji Li, Yunne-Jai Shin, Aimée Slangen, Mere Takoko, Olivier Thébaud, Adrien Vincent, and Patrick Vincent
State Planet, 7-osr10, 1, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-7-osr10-1-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-7-osr10-1-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
The Starfish Barometer provides an annual, science-based synthesis of global Ocean-related developments, structured around five interconnected dimensions: the Ocean state, human pressures, societal harms, protection efforts, and opportunities for humanity. It is released each year on World Ocean Day. This article presents the second edition of the Barometer, which shows a growing gap between increasing human pressures on the Ocean and the efforts being made to protect it and drive change.
Karina von Schuckmann, Flora Gues, Lorena Moreira, Aurélien Liné, and Álvaro de Pascual Collar
State Planet, 6-osr9, 3, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-6-osr9-3-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-6-osr9-3-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The northeastern Atlantic and adjacent seas are warming and acidifying at rates exceeding the global average, with rising sea levels and record severe marine heatwaves. These changes threaten marine ecosystems, biodiversity, cultural heritage, and key economic sectors that depend on a healthy ocean. This ocean narrative emphasizes the importance of regional ocean indicators, tailored local action, and stronger knowledge transfer between science and policy to support informed decisions.
Karina von Schuckmann, Flora Gues, Lorena Moreira, Aurélien Liné, and Álvaro de Pascual Collar
State Planet, 6-osr9, 2, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-6-osr9-2-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-6-osr9-2-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In 2024, global ocean heat content, sea surface temperatures, and sea level rise reached record levels. The triple planetary crisis affects all oceans, where pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change pressure marine systems, threatening key species, ecosystems, and the ocean’s role in climate stability. This ocean narrative calls for reinforced ocean observing systems, improved uncertainties, and robust science-based information for ocean protection policies and actions.
Urmas Raudsepp, Ilja Maljutenko, Priidik Lagemaa, and Karina von Schuckmann
State Planet, 6-osr9, 6, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-6-osr9-6-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-6-osr9-6-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Over the past 3 decades, the Baltic Sea has warmed and become saltier, reflecting broader atmospheric trends. Heat content changes are mainly driven by subsurface temperature variations in the upper 100 m, influenced by air temperature, evaporation, and wind stress. Freshwater content changes are largely controlled by salinity shifts in the halocline (40–120 m), with key drivers being saline inflows, precipitation, and zonal wind stress.
Piers M. Forster, Chris Smith, Tristram Walsh, William F. Lamb, Robin Lamboll, Christophe Cassou, Mathias Hauser, Zeke Hausfather, June-Yi Lee, Matthew D. Palmer, Karina von Schuckmann, Aimée B. A. Slangen, Sophie Szopa, Blair Trewin, Jeongeun Yun, Nathan P. Gillett, Stuart Jenkins, H. Damon Matthews, Krishnan Raghavan, Aurélien Ribes, Joeri Rogelj, Debbie Rosen, Xuebin Zhang, Myles Allen, Lara Aleluia Reis, Robbie M. Andrew, Richard A. Betts, Alex Borger, Jiddu A. Broersma, Samantha N. Burgess, Lijing Cheng, Pierre Friedlingstein, Catia M. Domingues, Marco Gambarini, Thomas Gasser, Johannes Gütschow, Masayoshi Ishii, Christopher Kadow, John Kennedy, Rachel E. Killick, Paul B. Krummel, Aurélien Liné, Didier P. Monselesan, Colin Morice, Jens Mühle, Vaishali Naik, Glen P. Peters, Anna Pirani, Julia Pongratz, Jan C. Minx, Matthew Rigby, Robert Rohde, Abhishek Savita, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Peter Thorne, Christopher Wells, Luke M. Western, Guido R. van der Werf, Susan E. Wijffels, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, and Panmao Zhai
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 2641–2680, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2641-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2641-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In a rapidly changing climate, evidence-based decision-making benefits from up-to-date and timely information. Here we compile monitoring datasets to track real-world changes over time. To make our work relevant to policymakers, we follow methods from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Human activities are increasing the Earth's energy imbalance and driving faster sea-level rise compared to the IPCC assessment.
Marina Lévy, Karina von Schuckmann, Patrick Vincent, Bruno Blanke, Joachim Claudet, Patrice Guillotreau, Audrey Hasson, Claire Jolly, Yunne Shin, Olivier Thébaud, Adrien Vincent, and Pierre Bahurel
State Planet, 6-osr9, 1, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-6-osr9-1-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-6-osr9-1-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The Ocean is vital to humanity, but humans are putting it at risk. The Starfish Barometer is a new yearly civic rendezvous that shows how people and the Ocean affect each other. Using science-based facts, it highlights major trends in ocean health, the pressures it faces, the harm to people, and current protection efforts and opportunities. The goal is to raise awareness to secure a better future for the Ocean and humanity.
Karina von Schuckmann, Lorena Moreira, Mathilde Cancet, Flora Gues, Emmanuelle Autret, Ali Aydogdu, Lluis Castrillo, Daniele Ciani, Andrea Cipollone, Emanuela Clementi, Gianpiero Cossarini, Alvaro de Pascual-Collar, Vincenzo De Toma, Marion Gehlen, Rianne Giesen, Marie Drevillon, Claudia Fanelli, Kevin Hodges, Simon Jandt-Scheelke, Eric Jansen, Melanie Juza, Ioanna Karagali, Priidik Lagemaa, Vidar Lien, Leonardo Lima, Vladyslav Lyubartsev, Ilja Maljutenko, Simona Masina, Ronan McAdam, Pietro Miraglio, Helen Morrison, Tabea Rebekka Panteleit, Andrea Pisano, Marie-Isabelle Pujol, Urmas Raudsepp, Roshin Raj, Ad Stoffelen, Simon Van Gennip, Pierre Veillard, and Chunxue Yang
State Planet, 4-osr8, 2, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-4-osr8-2-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-4-osr8-2-2024, 2024
Karina von Schuckmann, Lorena Moreira, Mathilde Cancet, Flora Gues, Emmanuelle Autret, Jonathan Baker, Clément Bricaud, Romain Bourdalle-Badie, Lluis Castrillo, Lijing Cheng, Frederic Chevallier, Daniele Ciani, Alvaro de Pascual-Collar, Vincenzo De Toma, Marie Drevillon, Claudia Fanelli, Gilles Garric, Marion Gehlen, Rianne Giesen, Kevin Hodges, Doroteaciro Iovino, Simon Jandt-Scheelke, Eric Jansen, Melanie Juza, Ioanna Karagali, Thomas Lavergne, Simona Masina, Ronan McAdam, Audrey Minière, Helen Morrison, Tabea Rebekka Panteleit, Andrea Pisano, Marie-Isabelle Pujol, Ad Stoffelen, Sulian Thual, Simon Van Gennip, Pierre Veillard, Chunxue Yang, and Hao Zuo
State Planet, 4-osr8, 1, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-4-osr8-1-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-4-osr8-1-2024, 2024
Lluís Castrillo-Acuña, Axel Alonso-Valle, and Álvaro de Pascual-Collar
State Planet, 4-osr8, 17, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-4-osr8-17-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-4-osr8-17-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this research we analyzed the marine heat waves (MHWs) that occurred in the IBI domain during the year 2022. Also, we shed light on the first steps of learning how MHWs behave under the ocean surface through the 2022 Bay of Biscay events. Our results show at least two extreme MHW events for the Bay of Biscay and the Celtic Sea for the year 2022. Moreover, we found that there is a seasonal modulation in mean MHW depth for the Bay of Biscay.
Álvaro de Pascual Collar, Roland Aznar, Bruno Levier, and Marcos García Sotillo
State Planet, 4-osr8, 5, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-4-osr8-5-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-4-osr8-5-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Iberia–Biscay–Ireland region in the North Atlantic has diverse ocean currents impacting upper and deeper layers. These currents are vital for heat transport, species dispersion, and sediment and pollutant movement. Monitoring them is crucial for informed decision-making in ocean-related activities, including the blue economy sector. This study introduces an indicator to track these currents, covering main ones like the Azores, Canary, Portugal, and poleward slope currents.
Piers M. Forster, Chris Smith, Tristram Walsh, William F. Lamb, Robin Lamboll, Bradley Hall, Mathias Hauser, Aurélien Ribes, Debbie Rosen, Nathan P. Gillett, Matthew D. Palmer, Joeri Rogelj, Karina von Schuckmann, Blair Trewin, Myles Allen, Robbie Andrew, Richard A. Betts, Alex Borger, Tim Boyer, Jiddu A. Broersma, Carlo Buontempo, Samantha Burgess, Chiara Cagnazzo, Lijing Cheng, Pierre Friedlingstein, Andrew Gettelman, Johannes Gütschow, Masayoshi Ishii, Stuart Jenkins, Xin Lan, Colin Morice, Jens Mühle, Christopher Kadow, John Kennedy, Rachel E. Killick, Paul B. Krummel, Jan C. Minx, Gunnar Myhre, Vaishali Naik, Glen P. Peters, Anna Pirani, Julia Pongratz, Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Sophie Szopa, Peter Thorne, Mahesh V. M. Kovilakam, Elisa Majamäki, Jukka-Pekka Jalkanen, Margreet van Marle, Rachel M. Hoesly, Robert Rohde, Dominik Schumacher, Guido van der Werf, Russell Vose, Kirsten Zickfeld, Xuebin Zhang, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, and Panmao Zhai
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2625–2658, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2625-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2625-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper tracks some key indicators of global warming through time, from 1850 through to the end of 2023. It is designed to give an authoritative estimate of global warming to date and its causes. We find that in 2023, global warming reached 1.3 °C and is increasing at over 0.2 °C per decade. This is caused by all-time-high greenhouse gas emissions.
Stefania A. Ciliberti, Enrique Alvarez Fanjul, Jay Pearlman, Kirsten Wilmer-Becker, Pierre Bahurel, Fabrice Ardhuin, Alain Arnaud, Mike Bell, Segolene Berthou, Laurent Bertino, Arthur Capet, Eric Chassignet, Stefano Ciavatta, Mauro Cirano, Emanuela Clementi, Gianpiero Cossarini, Gianpaolo Coro, Stuart Corney, Fraser Davidson, Marie Drevillon, Yann Drillet, Renaud Dussurget, Ghada El Serafy, Katja Fennel, Marcos Garcia Sotillo, Patrick Heimbach, Fabrice Hernandez, Patrick Hogan, Ibrahim Hoteit, Sudheer Joseph, Simon Josey, Pierre-Yves Le Traon, Simone Libralato, Marco Mancini, Pascal Matte, Angelique Melet, Yasumasa Miyazawa, Andrew M. Moore, Antonio Novellino, Andrew Porter, Heather Regan, Laia Romero, Andreas Schiller, John Siddorn, Joanna Staneva, Cecile Thomas-Courcoux, Marina Tonani, Jose Maria Garcia-Valdecasas, Jennifer Veitch, Karina von Schuckmann, Liying Wan, John Wilkin, and Romane Zufic
State Planet, 1-osr7, 2, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-1-osr7-2-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-1-osr7-2-2023, 2023
Karina von Schuckmann, Lorena Moreira, and Pierre-Yves Le Traon
State Planet, 1-osr7, 1, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-1-osr7-1-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-1-osr7-1-2023, 2023
Piers M. Forster, Christopher J. Smith, Tristram Walsh, William F. Lamb, Robin Lamboll, Mathias Hauser, Aurélien Ribes, Debbie Rosen, Nathan Gillett, Matthew D. Palmer, Joeri Rogelj, Karina von Schuckmann, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Blair Trewin, Xuebin Zhang, Myles Allen, Robbie Andrew, Arlene Birt, Alex Borger, Tim Boyer, Jiddu A. Broersma, Lijing Cheng, Frank Dentener, Pierre Friedlingstein, José M. Gutiérrez, Johannes Gütschow, Bradley Hall, Masayoshi Ishii, Stuart Jenkins, Xin Lan, June-Yi Lee, Colin Morice, Christopher Kadow, John Kennedy, Rachel Killick, Jan C. Minx, Vaishali Naik, Glen P. Peters, Anna Pirani, Julia Pongratz, Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, Sophie Szopa, Peter Thorne, Robert Rohde, Maisa Rojas Corradi, Dominik Schumacher, Russell Vose, Kirsten Zickfeld, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, and Panmao Zhai
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2295–2327, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2295-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2295-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This is a critical decade for climate action, but there is no annual tracking of the level of human-induced warming. We build on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment reports that are authoritative but published infrequently to create a set of key global climate indicators that can be tracked through time. Our hope is that this becomes an important annual publication that policymakers, media, scientists and the public can refer to.
Francisco José Cuesta-Valero, Hugo Beltrami, Almudena García-García, Gerhard Krinner, Moritz Langer, Andrew H. MacDougall, Jan Nitzbon, Jian Peng, Karina von Schuckmann, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Wim Thiery, Inne Vanderkelen, and Tonghua Wu
Earth Syst. Dynam., 14, 609–627, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-609-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-609-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Climate change is caused by the accumulated heat in the Earth system, with the land storing the second largest amount of this extra heat. Here, new estimates of continental heat storage are obtained, including changes in inland-water heat storage and permafrost heat storage in addition to changes in ground heat storage. We also argue that heat gains in all three components should be monitored independently of their magnitude due to heat-dependent processes affecting society and ecosystems.
Karina von Schuckmann, Audrey Minière, Flora Gues, Francisco José Cuesta-Valero, Gottfried Kirchengast, Susheel Adusumilli, Fiammetta Straneo, Michaël Ablain, Richard P. Allan, Paul M. Barker, Hugo Beltrami, Alejandro Blazquez, Tim Boyer, Lijing Cheng, John Church, Damien Desbruyeres, Han Dolman, Catia M. Domingues, Almudena García-García, Donata Giglio, John E. Gilson, Maximilian Gorfer, Leopold Haimberger, Maria Z. Hakuba, Stefan Hendricks, Shigeki Hosoda, Gregory C. Johnson, Rachel Killick, Brian King, Nicolas Kolodziejczyk, Anton Korosov, Gerhard Krinner, Mikael Kuusela, Felix W. Landerer, Moritz Langer, Thomas Lavergne, Isobel Lawrence, Yuehua Li, John Lyman, Florence Marti, Ben Marzeion, Michael Mayer, Andrew H. MacDougall, Trevor McDougall, Didier Paolo Monselesan, Jan Nitzbon, Inès Otosaka, Jian Peng, Sarah Purkey, Dean Roemmich, Kanako Sato, Katsunari Sato, Abhishek Savita, Axel Schweiger, Andrew Shepherd, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Leon Simons, Donald A. Slater, Thomas Slater, Andrea K. Steiner, Toshio Suga, Tanguy Szekely, Wim Thiery, Mary-Louise Timmermans, Inne Vanderkelen, Susan E. Wjiffels, Tonghua Wu, and Michael Zemp
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1675–1709, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1675-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1675-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Earth's climate is out of energy balance, and this study quantifies how much heat has consequently accumulated over the past decades (ocean: 89 %, land: 6 %, cryosphere: 4 %, atmosphere: 1 %). Since 1971, this accumulated heat reached record values at an increasing pace. The Earth heat inventory provides a comprehensive view on the status and expectation of global warming, and we call for an implementation of this global climate indicator into the Paris Agreement’s Global Stocktake.
Martin Horwath, Benjamin D. Gutknecht, Anny Cazenave, Hindumathi Kulaiappan Palanisamy, Florence Marti, Ben Marzeion, Frank Paul, Raymond Le Bris, Anna E. Hogg, Inès Otosaka, Andrew Shepherd, Petra Döll, Denise Cáceres, Hannes Müller Schmied, Johnny A. Johannessen, Jan Even Øie Nilsen, Roshin P. Raj, René Forsberg, Louise Sandberg Sørensen, Valentina R. Barletta, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Per Knudsen, Ole Baltazar Andersen, Heidi Ranndal, Stine K. Rose, Christopher J. Merchant, Claire R. Macintosh, Karina von Schuckmann, Kristin Novotny, Andreas Groh, Marco Restano, and Jérôme Benveniste
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 411–447, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-411-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-411-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Global mean sea-level change observed from 1993 to 2016 (mean rate of 3.05 mm yr−1) matches the combined effect of changes in water density (thermal expansion) and ocean mass. Ocean-mass change has been assessed through the contributions from glaciers, ice sheets, and land water storage or directly from satellite data since 2003. Our budget assessments of linear trends and monthly anomalies utilise new datasets and uncertainty characterisations developed within ESA's Climate Change Initiative.
Cited articles
Asaad, I., Lundquist, C. J., Erdmann, M. V., and Costello, M. J.: Delineating priority areas for marine biodiversity conservation in the Coral Triangle, Biol. Conserv., 222, 198–211, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.03.037, 2018.
Balaguru, K., Chang, C., Leung, L. R., Foltz, G. R., Hagos, S. M., Wehner, M. F., Kossin, J. P., Ting, M., and Xu, W.: A Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Earths Future, 12, e2023EF004230, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EF004230, 2024.
Bartelet, H. A., Barnes, M. L., and Cumming, G. S.: Estimating and comparing the direct economic contributions of reef fisheries and tourism in the Asia-Pacific, Mar. Policy, 159, 105939, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105939, 2024.
Beck, M. W., Losada, I. J., Menéndez, P., Reguero, B. G., Díaz-Simal, P., and Fernández, F.: The global flood protection savings provided by coral reefs, Nat. Commun., 9, 2186, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04568-z, 2018.
Bell, J. D., Senina, I., Adams, T., Aumont, O., Calmettes, B., Clark, S., Dessert, M., Gehlen, M., Gorgues, T., Hampton, J., Hanich, Q., Harden-Davies, H., Hare, S. R., Holmes, G., Lehodey, P., Lengaigne, M., Mansfield, W., Menkes, C., Nicol, S., Ota, Y., Pasisi, C., Pilling, G., Reid, C., Ronneberg, E., Gupta, A. S., Seto, K. L., Smith, N., Taei, S., Tsamenyi, M., and Williams, P.: Pathways to sustaining tuna-dependent Pacific Island economies during climate change, Nat. Sustain., 4, 900–910, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00745-z, 2021.
Bevan, J. L., Fritz, C., and Alaka, L.: Hurricane Beryl 28th June–9th July 2024, National Hurricane Center Tropical Cyclone Report (AL022024), https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL022024_Beryl.pdf (last access: 21 September 2026), 2025.
Bhuyan, Md. S., Jenzri, M., Islam, M. T., Adikari, D., and Hoque, M. M.: Climate change impacts on coral reefs and emerging resilience pathways: A systematic review, Ocean Coast. Manage., 276, 108134, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2026.108134, 2026.
Bohorquez, J., Fine, M., Grieco, D. I., Gill, D. A., Al-Sawalmih, A., Padilla-Gamiño, J., Bolden, I. W., Hein, M., Backstrom, C., McField, M., Martinez, R., Midberry, B., Al-Guthmy, F., Pikitch, E., Benejam, N., Azulay, C., Ronen, B., Levy, O., McElroy, A., and Kleinhaus, K.: Coral reefs span borders, so must solutions: transboundary conservation in complex political environments, npj Ocean. Sustain., 4, 64, https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-025-00166-x, 2025.
Brodie, G., Holland, E., N'Yeurt, A. D. R., Soapi, K., and Hills, J.: Seagrasses and seagrass habitats in Pacific small island developing states: Potential loss of benefits via human disturbance and climate change, Mar. Pollut. Bull., 160, 111573, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111573, 2020.
Bronen, R. and Chapin, F. S.: Adaptive governance and institutional strategies for climate-induced community relocations in Alaska, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 110, 9320–9325, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1210508110, 2013.
Campling, L., Havice, E., Virdin, J., Carmine, G., Andriamahefazafy, M., Barbesgaard, M., Chakravarty, S., Gorez, B., Hetherington, D., Kim, H., Mfodwo, K., and Standing, A.: A geopolitical-economy of distant water fisheries access arrangements, npj Ocean. Sustain., 3, 26, https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-024-00060-y, 2024.
Chaijaroen, P.: Coral Reef Deterioration and Livelihoods of Coastal Communities: An Economics Perspective, in: Corals – Habitat Formers in the Anthropocene, edited by: Chimienti, G., IntechOpen, https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105355, 2023.
Châles, F.: A systematic review of coral reef, mangrove, and seagrass ecosystem services in Pacific Small Island Developing States, Mondes Dév., 203, 125–149, https://doi.org/10.3917/e.med.203.0125, 2023.
Cheng, L., Von Schuckmann, K., Abraham, J. P., Trenberth, K. E., Mann, M. E., Zanna, L., England, M. H., Zika, J. D., Fasullo, J. T., Yu, Y., Pan, Y., Zhu, J., Newsom, E. R., Bronselaer, B., and Lin, X.: Past and future ocean warming, Nat. Rev. Earth Environ., 3, 776–794, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00345-1, 2022.
Cheng, L., Tan, Z., Pan, Y., Zheng, H., Zhu, Y., Wei, W., Du, J., Li, G., Ye, H., and Gouretski, V.: IAP global ocean heat content 1° gridded analysis product (IAPv4), Marine Science Data Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences [data set], https://doi.org/10.12157/IOCAS.20240117.001, 2024a.
Cheng, L., Pan, Y., Tan, Z., Zheng, H., Zhu, Y., Wei, W., Du, J., Yuan, H., Li, G., Ye, H., Gouretski, V., Li, Y., Trenberth, K. E., Abraham, J., Jin, Y., Reseghetti, F., Lin, X., Zhang, B., Chen, G., Mann, M. E., and Zhu, J.: IAPv4 ocean temperature and ocean heat content gridded dataset, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 3517–3546, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3517-2024, 2024b.
Choi, H.-Y., Park, M.-S., Kim, H.-S., and Lee, S.: Marine heatwave events strengthen the intensity of tropical cyclones, Commun. Earth Environ., 5, 69, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01239-4, 2024.
Claus, S., De Hauwere, N., Vanhoorne, B., Deckers, P., Souza Dias, F., Hernandez, F., and Mees, J.: Marine Regions: Towards a Global Standard for Georeferenced Marine Names and Boundaries, Mar. Geod., 37, 99–125, https://doi.org/10.1080/01490419.2014.902881, 2014.
Costanza, R., d'Arge, R., De Groot, R., Farber, S., Grasso, M., Hannon, B., Limburg, K., Naeem, S., O'Neill, R. V., Paruelo, J., Raskin, R. G., Sutton, P., and Van Den Belt, M.: The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital, Nature, 387, 253–260, https://doi.org/10.1038/387253a0, 1997.
Costello, M. J., Vale, M. M., Kiessling, W., Maharaj, S., Price, J., and Talukdar, G. H.: Cross-Chapter Paper 1: Biodiversity Hotspots, in: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 1st edn., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009325844, 2023.
Cramer, K. L., Bernard, M. L., Bernat, I., Gutierrez, L., Murphy, E. L., Sangolquí, P., Surrey, K. C., and Gerber, L. R.: The Present and Future Status of Ecosystem Services for Coral Reefs, in: Imperiled: The Encyclopedia of Conservation, Elsevier, 46–54, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-821139-7.00177-X, 2022.
CRED: Human Impact Variables, EM-DAT, CRED (Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters), https://doc.emdat.be/docs/data-structure-and-content/impact-variables/human/ (last access: 1 July 2026), 2023a.
CRED: Economic Impact Variables, EM-DAT, CRED (Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters), https://doc.emdat.be/docs/data-structure-and-content/impact-variables/economic/ (last access: 1 July 2026), 2023b.
CRED: 2024 Disasters in Numbers. Brussels, Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), Belgium, https://files.emdat.be/reports/2024_EMDAT_report.pdf (last access: 21 September 2026), 2025.
Delforge, D., Below, R., Wathelet, V., Tonnelier, M., Alonso, A., and Speybroeck, N.: 2025 Disasters in Numbers, Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), Belgium, https://files.emdat.be/reports/2025_EMDAT_report.pdf (last access: 21 September 2026), 2026.
de-Miguel-Molina, B., de-Miguel-Molina, M., and Rumiche-Sosa, M. E.: Luxury sustainable tourism in Small Island Developing States surrounded by coral reefs, Ocean Coast. Manage., 98, 86–94, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2014.06.017, 2014.
Dzwonkowski, B., Coogan, J., Fournier, S., Lockridge, G., Park, K., and Lee, T.: Compounding impact of severe weather events fuels marine heatwave in the coastal ocean, Nat. Commun., 11, 4623, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18339-2, 2020.
Emanuel, K., DesAutels, C., Holloway, C., and Korty, R.: Environmental Control of Tropical Cyclone Intensity, J. Atmos. Sci., 61, 843–858, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2004)061<0843:ECOTCI>2.0.CO;2, 2004.
Englander, G.: Property rights and the protection of global marine resources, Nat. Sustain., 2, 981–987, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0389-9, 2019.
E.U. Copernicus Marine Service: Global Ocean Mean Sea Level trend map from Observations Reprocessing, Marine Data Store (MDS) [data set], https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00238, 2025.
E.U. Copernicus Marine Service: Global Ocean in situ – Delayed Mode temperature and salinity CORA – objective analysis, Marine Data Store (MDS) [data set], https://doi.org/10.48670/mds-00383, 2026.
Ferrario, F., Beck, M. W., Storlazzi, C. D., Micheli, F., Shepard, C. C., and Airoldi, L.: The effectiveness of coral reefs for coastal hazard risk reduction and adaptation, Nat. Commun., 5, 3794, https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4794, 2014.
FFA: FFA 2023 Tuna Economic Indicators Brochure, Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, HONIARA, Solomon Islands, https://www.ffa.int/publications-and-statistics/statistics/ (last access: 21 September 2026), 2023.
Flanders Marine Institute: Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase: Maritime Boundaries and Exclusive Economic Zones (200NM), version 12, Flanders Marine Institute [data set], https://doi.org/10.14284/632, 2023.
Gahtan, J., Knapp, K. R., Schreck, C. J. III, Diamond, H. J., Kossin, J. P., and Kruk, M. C.: International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS) Project, Version 4.01, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information [data set], https://doi.org/10.25921/82ty-9e16, 2024.
Gedan, K. B., Kirwan, M. L., Wolanski, E., Barbier, E. B., and Silliman, B. R.: The present and future role of coastal wetland vegetation in protecting shorelines: answering recent challenges to the paradigm, Climatic Change, 106, 7–29, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-010-0003-7, 2011.
Good, S. A., Martin, M. J., and Rayner, N. A.: EN4 quality controlled subsurface ocean temperature and salinity profiles and objective analyses, Met Office Hadley Centre [data set], https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/en4/index.html (last access: 1 July 2026), 2013a.
Good, S. A., Martin, M. J., and Rayner, N. A.: EN4: Quality controlled ocean temperature and salinity profiles and monthly objective analyses with uncertainty estimates, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 118, 6704–6716, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JC009067, 2013b.
Gray, W. M.: Global View Of The Origin Of Tropical Disturbances And Storms, Mon. Wea. Rev., 96, 669–700, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1968)096<0669:GVOTOO>2.0.CO;2, 1968.
Green, A. and Wewerinke-Singh, M.: State Continuity, Self-Determination and Sea-Level Rise, Int. Comp. Law Q., 74, 555–585, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020589325100961, 2025.
Grimley, L. E., Hollinger Beatty, K. E., Sebastian, A., Bunya, S., and Lackmann, G. M.: Climate change exacerbates compound flooding from recent tropical cyclones, npj Nat. Hazards, 1, 45, https://doi.org/10.1038/s44304-024-00046-3, 2024.
Guha-Sapir, D.: EM-DAT, the Emergency Events Database, Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), Université catholique de Louvain, https://www.emdat.be (last access: 1 July 2026), 2020.
Guo, Y.-P. and Tan, Z.-M.: Enhanced global storm surges by tropical cyclone poleward migration, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 123, e2535524123, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2535524123, 2026.
Gussmann, G. and Hinkel, J.: A framework for assessing the potential effectiveness of adaptation policies: Coastal risks and sea-level rise in the Maldives, Environ. Sci. Policy, 115, 35–42, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2020.09.028, 2021.
Haas, B., Jaeckel, A., Pouponneau, A., Sacedon, R., Singh, G. G., and Cisneros-Montemayor, A. M.: The use of influential power in ocean governance, Front. Mar. Sci., 10, 1045887, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1045887, 2023.
Hallam, S., Marsh, R., Josey, S. A., Hyder, P., Moat, B., and Hirschi, J. J.-M.: Ocean precursors to the extreme Atlantic 2017 hurricane season, Nat. Commun., 10, 896, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-08496-4, 2019.
Hallam, S., Guishard, M., Josey, S. A., Hyder, P., and Hirschi, J.: Increasing tropical cyclone intensity and potential intensity in the subtropical Atlantic around Bermuda from an ocean heat content perspective 1955–2019, Environ. Res. Lett., 16, 034052, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe493, 2021.
Hassanali, K., Catzim, N., Derrig, R., Harden-Davies, H., Nelson, V. G., and Pouponneau, A.: Big schools of small fish in a big pond – the influence of small-island developing states in the BBNJ process, Front. Mar. Sci., 13, 1762739, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2026.1762739, 2026.
Hinkel, J., Garcin, M., Gussmann, G., Amores, A., Barbier, C., Bisaro, A., Le Cozannet, G., Duvat, V., Imad, M., Khaleel, Z., Marcos, M., Pedreros, R., Shareef, A., and Waheed, A.: Co-creating a coastal climate service to prioritise investments in erosion prevention and sea-level rise adaptation in the Maldives, Climate Services, 31, 100401, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cliser.2023.100401, 2023.
Huang, B., Liu, C., Banzon, V. F., Freeman, E., Graham, G., Hankins, W., Smith, T. M., and Zhang, H.-M.: NOAA 0.25-degree Daily Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature (OISST), Version 2.1, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information [data set], https://doi.org/10.25921/RE9P-PT57, 2020.
Huang, B., Liu, C., Banzon, V., Freeman, E., Graham, G., Hankins, B., Smith, T., and Zhang, H.-M.: Improvements of the Daily Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature (DOISST) Version 2.1, J. Climate, 34, 2923–2939, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-20-0166.1, 2021.
Hughes, D. J., Alderdice, R., Cooney, C., Kühl, M., Pernice, M., Voolstra, C. R., and Suggett, D. J.: Coral reef survival under accelerating ocean deoxygenation, Nat. Clim. Chang., 10, 296–307, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0737-9, 2020.
Hughes, T. P., Kerry, J. T., Álvarez-Noriega, M., Álvarez-Romero, J. G., Anderson, K. D., Baird, A. H., Babcock, R. C., Beger, M., Bellwood, D. R., Berkelmans, R., Bridge, T. C., Butler, I. R., Byrne, M., Cantin, N. E., Comeau, S., Connolly, S. R., Cumming, G. S., Dalton, S. J., Diaz-Pulido, G., Eakin, C. M., Figueira, W. F., Gilmour, J. P., Harrison, H. B., Heron, S. F., Hoey, A. S., Hobbs, J.-P. A., Hoogenboom, M. O., Kennedy, E. V., Kuo, C., Lough, J. M., Lowe, R. J., Liu, G., McCulloch, M. T., Malcolm, H. A., McWilliam, M. J., Pandolfi, J. M., Pears, R. J., Pratchett, M. S., Schoepf, V., Simpson, T., Skirving, W. J., Sommer, B., Torda, G., Wachenfeld, D. R., Willis, B. L., and Wilson, S. K.: Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals, Nature, 543, 373–377, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21707, 2017.
Hume, A., Leape, J., Oleson, K. L. L., Polk, E., Chand, K., and Dunbar, R.: Towards an ocean-based large ocean states country classification, Mar. Policy, 134, 104766, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2021.104766, 2021.
IPCC: The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate: Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 1st edn., Cambridge University Press, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157964, 2019.
IPCC: Climate Change 2021 – The Physical Science Basis: Working Group I Contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 1st edn., Cambridge University Press, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157896, 2021.
IPCC: Climate Change 2022 – Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability: Working Group II Contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 1st edn., Cambridge University Press, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009325844, 2023.
Irish, J. L., Resio, D. T., and Divoky, D.: Statistical properties of hurricane surge along a coast, J. Geophys. Res., 116, C10007, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006626, 2011.
IUCN: Reef-forming Corals (spatial data), The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, IUCN [data set], https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/spatial-data-download (last access: 1 July 2026), 2020.
IUCN: Species Richness and Rarity-Weighted Richness spatial data, International Union for Conservation of Nature [data set], https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/other-spatial-downloads (last access: 1 July 2026), 2025a.
IUCN: Red List Technical Working Group: Mapping Standards and Data Quality for IUCN Red List Spatial Data. Version 1.21, IUCN, https://nc.iucnredlist.org/redlist/content/attachment_files/Mapping_Standards_Version_1.21_Nov2025.pdf (last access: 1 July 2026), 2025b.
IUCN: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Version 2025-2, https://www.iucnredlist.org (last access: 1 July 2026), 2026.
Jablonski, D., Roy, K., and Valentine, J. W.: Out of the Tropics: Evolutionary Dynamics of the Latitudinal Diversity Gradient, Science, 314, 102–106, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1130880, 2006.
Jaimes, B., Shay, L. K., and Uhlhorn, E. W.: Enthalpy and Momentum Fluxes during Hurricane Earl Relative to Underlying Ocean Features, Mon. Weather Rev., 143, 111–131, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-13-00277.1, 2015.
Jaimes, B., Shay, L. K., and Brewster, J. K.: Observed air-sea interactions in tropical cyclone Isaac over Loop Current mesoscale eddy features, Dynam. Atmos. Oceans, 76, 306–324, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dynatmoce.2016.03.001, 2016.
Keo, K. and Yoona, J.: The State of Climate Ambition, UNDP, New York, https://www.undp.org/publications/state-climate-ambition-snapshots-least-developed-countries-ldcs-and-small-island-developing-states-sids (last access: 17 June 2026), 2022.
Kleisner, K. and Pauly, D.: Stock-Status Plots (SSPs), Sea Around Us, https://www.seaaroundus.org/doc/Methods/StockStatusMethod/Method-SSP-new-June-08-2015.pdf (last access: 21 September 2026), 2015.
Knapp, K. R., Kruk, M. C., Levinson, D. H., Diamond, H. J., and Neumann, C. J.: The International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS): Unifying Tropical Cyclone Data, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 91, 363–376, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009BAMS2755.1, 2010.
Krauss, K. W., McKee, K. L., Lovelock, C. E., Cahoon, D. R., Saintilan, N., Reef, R., and Chen, L.: How mangrove forests adjust to rising sea level, New Phytol., 202, 19–34, https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.12605, 2014.
Labh, N.: Reconsidering Sovereignty Amid the Climate Crisis, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Publications, https://assets.carnegieendowment.org/static/files/Labh-Climate%20Sovereignty.pdf (last access: 16 June 2026), 2025.
Levitus, S., Antonov, J. I., Boyer, T. P., Baranova, O. K., Garcia, H. E., Locarnini, R. A., Mishonov, A. V., Reagan, J. R., Seidov, D., Yarosh, E. S., and Zweng, M. M.: World ocean heat content and thermosteric sea level change (0–2000 m), 1955–2010, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, 2012GL051106, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL051106, 2012.
Levitus, S., Antonov, J., Boyer, T., Baranova, O. K., Garcia, H. E., Locarnini, R. A., Mishonov, A. V., Reagan, J. R., Seidov, D., Yarosh, E., and Zweng, M. M.: NCEI ocean heat content, temperature anomalies, salinity anomalies, thermosteric sea level anomalies, halosteric sea level anomalies, and total steric sea level anomalies from 1955 to present calculated from in situ oceanographic subsurface profile data (NCEI Accession 0164586), Version 1.1, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information [data set], https://doi.org/10.7289/V53F4MVP, 2017.
Lévy, M., von Schuckmann, K., Butel, M., Cheung, W. W. L., Claudet, J., Frölicher, T. L., Guillotreau, P., Haugan, P., Adams, J., Amon, D., Bambridge, T., Barzuna, C., Blanke, B., Cheng, L., Chiba, S., Cortés, J., Friedlingstein, P., Gattuso, J.-P., Gelcich, S., Gephart, J., Greaves, D., Hasson, A., Jolly, C., Li, D., Shin, Y.-J., Slangen, A., Takoko, M., Thébaud, O., Vincent, A., and Vincent, P.: The 2026 Starfish Barometer, in: 10th edition of the Copernicus Ocean State Report (OSR10), edited by: Grégoire, M., Brasseur, P., Garric, G., Karstensen, J., Lionello, P., Marcos, M., Poulain, P.-M., and Staneva, J., Copernicus Publications, State Planet, 7-osr10, 1, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-7-osr10-1-2026, 2026.
Liu, K. S. and Chan, J. C. L.: Growing Threat of Rapidly-Intensifying Tropical Cyclones in East Asia, Adv. Atmos. Sci., 39, 222–234, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-021-1126-7, 2022.
Lombard, A. T., Clifford-Holmes, J., Goodall, V., Snow, B., Truter, H., Vrancken, P., Jones, P. J. S., Cochrane, K., Flannery, W., Hicks, C., Gipperth, L., Allison, E. H., Diz, D., Peters, K., Erinosho, B., Levin, P., Holthus, P., Szephegyi, M. N., Awad, A., Golo, H., and Morgera, E.: Principles for transformative ocean governance, Nat. Sustain., 6, 1587–1599, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01210-9, 2023.
Marino, E.: Adaptation privilege and Voluntary Buyouts: Perspectives on ethnocentrism in sea level rise relocation and retreat policies in the US, Global Environ. Chang., 49, 10–13, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.01.002, 2018.
Martyr-Koller, R., Thomas, A., Schleussner, C.-F., Nauels, A., and Lissner, T.: Loss and damage implications of sea-level rise on Small Island Developing States, Curr. Opin. Env. Sust., 50, 245–259, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2021.05.001, 2021.
Menéndez, P., Losada, I. J., Beck, M. W., Torres-Ortega, S., Espejo, A., Narayan, S., Díaz-Simal, P., and Lange, G.-M.: Valuing the protection services of mangroves at national scale: The Philippines, Ecosyst. Serv., 34, 24–36, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.09.005, 2018.
Menéndez, P., Losada, I. J., Torres-Ortega, S., Narayan, S., and Beck, M. W.: The Global Flood Protection Benefits of Mangroves, Sci. Rep., 10, 4404, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61136-6, 2020.
Mimura, N., Nurse, L. A., McLean, R. F., Agard, J., Briguglio, L., Lefale, P., Payet, R., and Sem, G.: Small islands, in: Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, edited by: Parry, M. L., Canziani, O. F., Palutikof, J. P., van der Linden, P. J., and Hanson, C. E., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, 687–716, https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/WGIIAR5-Chap29_FINAL.pdf (last access: 28 September 2026), 2007.
Momin, I. M., Karmakar, A., Gupta, A., and Mitra, A. K.: Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential (TCHP) from the NCMRWF NEMO based global ocean analysis and forecast system, MAUSAM, 72, 207–214, https://doi.org/10.54302/mausam.v72i1.136, 2021.
Moonsammy, S., Boman, M., Ramdhanie, V., and Renn-Moonsammy, D.-M.: State-of-the art valuation of wetland ecosystem services in Small Island Developing States: A systematic review with an emphasis on future research needs, Ecosyst. Serv., 68, 101625, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2024.101625, 2024.
Needham, H. F. and Keim, B. D.: A storm surge database for the US Gulf Coast, Int. J. Climatol., 32, 2108–2123, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.2425, 2012.
Needham, H. F. and Keim, B. D.: Global Peak Storm Surge Map, SURGEDAT – The World's Storm Surge Information Center, Louisiana State University [data set], https://surge.climate.lsu.edu/data.html (last access: 1 July 2026), 2015.
OECD: Sustainable Ocean for All: Harnessing the Benefits for Developing Countries, OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/bede6513-en, 2020.
Olson, D. M. and Dinerstein, E.: The Global 200: Priority Ecoregions for Global Conservation, Ann. MO Bot. Gard., 89, 199, https://doi.org/10.2307/3298564, 2002.
Pan, Y., Cheng, L., Abraham, J., Trenberth, K. E., Reagan, J., Du, J., Wang, Z., Storto, A., Von Schuckmann, K., Zhu, Y., Mann, M. E., Zhu, J., Wang, F., Yu, F., Locarnini, R., Fasullo, J., Huang, B., Graham, G., Yin, X., Gouretski, V., Zheng, F., Li, Y., Zhang, B., Wan, L., Chen, X., Wang, D., Feng, L., Song, X., Liu, Y., Reseghetti, F., Simoncelli, S., Chen, G., Zhang, R., Mishonov, A., Wei, W., Tan, Z., Li, G., Cao, L., Chen, L., Yuan, H., Lyu, K., Sulaiman, A., Mayer, M., Wang, H., Ma, Z., Bao, S., Yan, H., Liu, Z., Yang, C., Liu, X., Hausfather, Z., Gues, F., Song, X., Zhang, M., and Chen, L.: Ocean Heat Content Sets Another Record in 2025, Adv. Atmos. Sci., https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-026-5876-0, 2026.
Pearce-Kelly, P., Altieri, A. H., Bruno, J. F., Cornwall, C. E., McField, M., Muñiz-Castillo, A. I., Rocha, J., Setter, R. O., Sheppard, C., Roman-Cuesta, R. M., and Yesson, C.: Considerations for determining warm-water coral reef tipping points, Earth Syst. Dynam., 16, 275–292, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-275-2025, 2025.
Pereira, P. H. C., Araujo, J. C., Lima, G. V., Côrtes, L. G. F., Gomes, E., and Magris, R. A.: Effectiveness of management zones for recovering parrotfish species within the largest coastal marine protected area in Brazil, Sci. Rep., 12, 12232, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15990-1, 2022.
Pfab, F., Detmer, A. R., Moeller, H. V., Nisbet, R. M., Putnam, H. M., and Cunning, R.: Heat stress and bleaching in corals: a bioenergetic model, Coral Reefs, 43, 1627–1645, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-024-02561-1, 2024.
Pujol, M. I., Quet, V., and Legeais, J. F.: EU Copernicus Marine Service Product User Manual for the OMI_CLIMATE_SL_GLOBAL_regional_trends, issue 6.0, Mercator Ocean International, https://documentation.marine.copernicus.eu/PUM/CMEMS-SL-PUM-CLIMATE.pdf (last access: 1 July 2026), 2025.
Quet, V., Taburet, G., and Pujol, M. I.: EU Copernicus Marine Service Quality Information Document for OMI_CLIMATE_SL_GLOBAL_regional_trends, issue 7.0, Mercator Ocean International, EU Copernicus Marine Service, https://documentation.marine.copernicus.eu/QUID/CMEMS-SL-QUID-CLIMATE.pdf (last access: 1 July 2026), 2025.
RAMSAR, Robertson, H., Fennessy, S., Hilton, G., Job, N., Kumar, R., Simpson, M., Aggestam, F., Aldred, M., Chacón, A., Costanza, R., Davidson, N., Field, C., Finlayson, C. M., Gandra, F., Gillis, L. G., Hernández-Blanco, M., Moritsch, M., Thornton, S., Wood, K., and Van'T Hoff, V.: Global Wetland Outlook 2025: Valuing, conserving, restoring and financing wetlands, Convention on Wetlands, https://doi.org/10.69556/GWO-2025-eng, 2025.
Robinson, S., Carlson, D., Bouton, E., Dolan, M., Meakem, A., Messer, A., and Roberts, J. T.: The dynamics of institutional arrangements for climate change adaptation in small island developing states in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, Sustain. Sci., 18, 251–264, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01186-z, 2023.
Robles-Zavala, E. and Chang Reynoso, A. G.: The recreational value of coral reefs in the Mexican Pacific, Ocean Coast. Manage., 157, 1–8, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.02.010, 2018.
Saddington, L.: Geopolitical imaginaries in climate and ocean governance: Seychelles and the Blue Economy, Geoforum, 139, 103682, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2023.103682, 2023.
Saeedi, H., Costello, M. J., Warren, D., and Brandt, A.: Latitudinal and bathymetrical species richness patterns in the NW Pacific and adjacent Arctic Ocean, Sci. Rep., 9, 9303, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-45813-9, 2019.
Sandi, S. G., Rodríguez, J. F., Saintilan, N., Riccardi, G., and Saco, P. M.: Rising tides, rising gates: The complex ecogeomorphic response of coastal wetlands to sea-level rise and human interventions, Adv. Water Resour., 114, 135–148, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2018.02.006, 2018.
Sasaki, H. and Motoi, T.: Accelerated Increase in Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential in the Typhoon Rapidly Intensifying Zone during 1955–2020, SOLA, 18, 65–70, https://doi.org/10.2151/sola.2022-011, 2022.
SEDAC: 2020 Environmental Performance Index, NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC), Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy (YCELP) [data set], https://doi.org/10.7927/F54C-0R44, 2020.
Seguin, R., Mouillot, D., Cinner, J. E., Stuart Smith, R. D., Maire, E., Graham, N. A. J., McLean, M., Vigliola, L., and Loiseau, N.: Towards process-oriented management of tropical reefs in the anthropocene, Nat. Sustain., 6, 148–157, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00981-x, 2022.
Singh, P., Linnér, B.-O., and Singh, A. A.: Marine spatial planning and ocean governance in Small Island Developing States, Reg. Environ. Change, 25, 91, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-025-02412-x, 2025.
Song, J., Klotzbach, P. J., and Duan, Y.: Increasing lifetime maximum intensity of rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones over the western North Pacific, Environ. Res. Lett., 16, 034002, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abdbf1, 2021.
Spalding, A. K., Grorud-Colvert, K., Allison, E. H., Amon, D. J., Collin, R., De Vos, A., Friedlander, A. M., Johnson, S. M., Mayorga, J., Paris, C. B., Scott, C., Suman, D. O., Cisneros-Montemayor, A. M., Estradivari, Giron-Nava, A., Gurney, G. G., Harris, J. M., Hicks, C., Mangubhai, S., Micheli, F., Naggea, J., Obura, D., Palacios-Abrantes, J., Pouponneau, A., and Thurber, R. V.: Engaging the tropical majority to make ocean governance and science more equitable and effective, npj Ocean. Sustain., 2, 8, https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-023-00015-9, 2023.
Spalding, M., Burke, L., Wood, S. A., Ashpole, J., Hutchison, J., and Zu Ermgassen, P.: Mapping the global value and distribution of coral reef tourism, Mar. Policy, 82, 104–113, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2017.05.014, 2017.
Sumaila, U. R., Dyck, A., and Cheung, W. W. L.: Fisheries subsidies and potential catch loss in SIDS Exclusive Economic Zones: food security implications, Envir. Dev. Econ., 18, 427–439, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X13000156, 2013.
Szekely, T.: EU Copernicus Marine Service Quality Information Document for In Situ TAC Objective Analysis product INSITU_GLO_PHY_TS_OA_MY_013_052, issue 1.15, Mercator Ocean International, https://documentation.marine.copernicus.eu/QUID/CMEMS-INS-QUID-013-052.pdf (last access: 1 July 2026), 2026a.
Szekely, T.: EU Copernicus Marine Service Product User Manual for the In Situ TAC objective analysis Products INSITU_GLO_PHY_TS_OA_MY_013_052 and INSITU_GLO_PHY_TS_OA_NRT_013_002, issue 1.13, Mercator Ocean International, https://documentation.marine.copernicus.eu/PUM/CMEMS-INS-PUM-013-002-052.pdf (last access: 1 July 2026), 2026b.
Tebbett, S. B., Connolly, S. R., and Bellwood, D. R.: Benthic composition changes on coral reefs at global scales, Nat. Ecol. Evol., 7, 71–81, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01937-2, 2023.
Teelucksingh, S., Nunes, P. A. L. D., and Perrings, C.: Biodiversity-based development in Small Island Developing States, Envir. Dev. Econ., 18, 381–391, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X13000260, 2013.
Teh, L. S. L., Teh, L. C. L., and Sumaila, U. R.: A Global Estimate of the Number of Coral Reef Fishers, PLoS ONE, 8, e65397, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0065397, 2013.
Teneva, L., Free, C. M., Hume, A., Agostini, V. N., Klein, C. J., Watson, R. A., and Gaines, S. D.: Small island nations can achieve food security benefits through climate-adaptive blue food governance by 2050, Mar. Policy, 151, 105577, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105577, 2023.
Thampanya, U., Vermaat, J. E., Sinsakul, S., and Panapitukkul, N.: Coastal erosion and mangrove progradation of Southern Thailand, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 68, 75–85, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2006.01.011, 2006.
The Nature Conservancy: Mapping Ocean Wealth – Mangrove Coastal Protection Benefit, The Nature Conservancy [data set], https://maps.oceanwealth.org/#/data (last access: 1 July 2026), 2018.
Thomas, A. and Theokritoff, E.: Adaptation constraints, limits and enabling conditions in small island developing states, Curr. Opin. Env. Sust., 71, 101488, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2024.101488, 2024.
Thorpe, A.: Mainstreaming Fisheries into National Development Plans and Poverty Reduction Strategies: Current Situation and Opportunities, FAO Fisheries Circular No. 997, FAO, Rome, https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/f54a6f47-c723-4f26-b353-274ca8242f42 (last access: 28 September 2026), 2005.
UN: Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3–14 June 1992, Agenda 21, Chap. 17, Section G, A/CONF.151/26/Rev.1 (Vol. I), United Nations, New York, https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/publications/Agenda21.pdf (last access: 1 July 2026), 1992.
UN DESA: Small Island Developing States, UN DESA, https://sdgs.un.org/topics/small-island-developing-states (last access: 1 July 2026), 2026.
UNDP: Fish Stock Status, Environmental Performance Index, SIDS Data Platform Development Indicators, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), https://sids.data.undp.org/development-indicators/key-epi-FSS/recentValue/bars (last access: 21 September 2026), 2026.
UNDRR: Gobal Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Resilience Pays: Investing and Financing for Our Future, UNDRR, https://www.undrr.org/gar/gar2025#download (last access: 24 June 2026), 2025.
UN OHRLLS: List of SIDS, Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, UN OHRLLS [data set], https://www.un.org/ohrlls/content/list-sids (last access: 1 July 2026), 2026.
Vasileiadou, K., Chatzinikolaou, E., Klayn, S., Pavloudi, C., and Reizopoulou, S.: Editorial: Marine biodiversity hotspots – challenges and resilience, Front. Mar. Sci., 11, 1338242, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1338242, 2024.
von Schuckmann, K., Gues, F., Moreira, L., Liné, A., and de Pascual Collar, Á.: Global ocean change in the era of the triple planetary crisis, in: 9th edition of the Copernicus Ocean State Report (OSR9), edited by: von Schuckmann, K., Moreira, L., de Pascual Collar, Á., Grégoire, M., Brasseur, P., Garric, G., Karstensen, J., Lionello, P., Marcos, M., Poulain, P.-M., and Staneva, J., Copernicus Publications, State Planet, 6-osr9, 2, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-6-osr9-2-2025, 2025a.
von Schuckmann, K., Gues, F., Moreira, L., Liné, A., and de Pascual Collar, Á.: Ocean change in the northeastern Atlantic and adjacent seas: a multi-dimensional challenge for the environment, society, and economy, in: 9th edition of the Copernicus Ocean State Report (OSR9), edited by: von Schuckmann, K., Moreira, L., de Pascual Collar, Á., Grégoire, M., Brasseur, P., Garric, G., Karstensen, J., Lionello, P., Marcos, M., Poulain, P.-M., and Staneva, J., Copernicus Publications, State Planet, 6-osr9, 3, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-6-osr9-3-2025, 2025b.
Von Schuckmann, K., Godoy-Faundez, A., Garçon, V., Muller-Karger, F. E., Evans, K., Appeltans, W., Bax, N., Benedetti Cecchi, L., Bernard, A., Bernard, K., Byrnes, J., Canonico, G., Chapuis, L., Clark, M. R., Darnaude, A. M., Davies, C., Englyst, P., Fransson, A., Hallam, S., Heslop, E., Holland, E., Hood, M., Kern, S., Liné, A., Lara-Lopez, A., Loose, N., Martín Míguez, B., McMahon, C. R., Nordlund, L. M., Post, J., Speich, S., Sutton, A., Tanhua, T., Telszewski, M., Poursanidis, D., and Yu, W.: Global ocean indicators: Marking pathways at the science-policy nexus, Mar. Policy, 184, 106922, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2025.106922, 2026.
Vousdoukas, M. I., Athanasiou, P., Giardino, A., Mentaschi, L., Stocchino, A., Kopp, R. E., Menéndez, P., Beck, M. W., Ranasinghe, R., and Feyen, L.: Small Island Developing States under threat by rising seas even in a 1.5 °C warming world, Nat. Sustain., 6, 1552–1564, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01230-5, 2023.
Wada, A. and Chan, J. C. L.: Increasing TCHP in the Western North Pacific and Its Influence on the Intensity of FAXAI and HAGIBIS in 2019, SOLA, 17A, 29–32, https://doi.org/10.2151/sola.17A-005, 2021.
Wada, A. and Yanase, W.: Is the Increasing Trend in the Environmental Upper-Ocean Heat Content in the Northwest Pacific Strengthening Tropical Cyclone Intensity?, in: Advances in Hurricane Risk in a Changing Climate, vol. 3, edited by: Collins, J., Done, J., Zhu, Y.-J., and Wilson, P., Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham, 97–124, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-63186-3_5, 2024.
Whitaker, H. and DeCarlo, T.: Re(de)fining degree-heating week: coral bleaching variability necessitates regional and temporal optimization of global forecast model stress metrics, Coral Reefs, 43, 969–984, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-024-02512-w, 2024.
WMO: WMO State of the Climate in 2025, WMO, https://wmo.int/publication-series/state-of-global-climate/state-of-global-climate-2025 (last access: 21 September 2026), 2026.
World Bank: GDP (current US$), World Development Indicators, World Bank [data set], https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?view=map (last access: 1 July 2026), 2026.
Yuan, M.-H., Lin, K.-T., Pan, S.-Y., and Yang, C.-K.: Exploring coral reef benefits: A systematic SEEA-driven review, Sci. Total Environ., 950, 175237, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175237, 2024.
Short summary
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) depend on the ocean for their societies, economies and livelihoods, addressed here with an ocean narrative using a suite of integrated ocean indicators. Their Exclusive Economic Zones govern 8 % of the global ocean and hold global biodiversity hotspots. SIDS are also among the regions most exposed to ocean and climate change, facing sea-level rise, ocean warming, tropical cyclone risks, and growing impacts on marine ecosystems and SIDS communities.
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) depend on the ocean for their societies, economies and...
Altmetrics