The atmospheric circulation anomalies associated with the formation of marine heatwaves in the Northeast Pacific

Extreme and persistent marine heatwaves (MHWs) occur frequently in the Northeast Pacific, with huge impacts on climate, ecosystem and socio-economic. This study investigates the atmospheric circulations associated with the 33 MHWs since 1951 in observations. The composite results reveal that the MHWs in the Northeast Pacific can be triggered by a couple of anticyclonic and cyclonic anomalies, i.e., the anticyclonic anomaly to the northeast of the MHW region and cyclonic anomaly to the southwest.  This atmospheric circulation pattern can be detected as the dominant mode through EOF analysis on 500-hPa geopotential height anomalies over the Northeast Pacific-North America region, following the Pacific–North American teleconnection. These observational results are verified by using the outputs of 34 models in the historical simulation from phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). Further diagnosis of the heat budget is performed, in attempt to illustrate the processes of MHW formation and maintenance.