As global ocean temperatures continue to rise, Marine Heat Waves (MHW) have become more widespread, threatening marine ecosystems and their services for food-provision, livelihoods and recreation.

Predicting the occurrence, intensity and duration of MHW, and understanding their impacts on marine ecosystems is essential for management planning of ecosystems services, a key step towards developing science-based solutions for sustainable development.

CAREHeat will develop novel strategies to identify MHW, assess the status and trends of MHW, and determine their effect on marine ecosystems. This will be achieved following a multidisciplinary approach capitalizing on the large potential offered by satellite Earth observations, complemented with automated (Argo and Biogeochemical-Argo) field measurements, biogeochemical modelling and emerging machine learning technologies. CAREHeat will:

1. develop, validate and cross-compare novel EO MHW products;
2. Produce an improved multidimensional global MHW Atlas, and provide a 4D MHW reconstruction Experimental Dataset;
3. Advance the understanding and prediction of MHW development, and assess the single and combined effect of MHWs and other anthropogenic stressors (acidification, eutrophication, deoxygenation) on marine dynamics, function, and biodiversity;
4. Assess the usefulness of the novel MHW indices relevant for marine ecosystems stakeholders (fishery, aquaculture, marine protected areas), contributing towards science-based solutions in support of decision-makers and marine ecosystem management strategies; 5) Provide recommendations for a Science Agenda and 5-year science roadmap.