'''DEFINITION'''

The Iberia-Biscay-Ireland (IBI) Ocean Heat Content (OHC) indicator, OMI_CLIMATE_OHC_IBI_area_averaged_anomalies, provides estimates of OHC anomalies computed over the reference period 1993–2024. The values are integrated from the surface down to 2000 m depth, using a reference density of ρ₀ = 1030 kg·m⁻³ and a specific heat capacity of cₚ = 3980 J·kg⁻¹·°C⁻¹ (e.g., von Schuckmann et al., 2009). This variable is directly proportional to the average temperature change in the ocean.

Averaged time series of OHC anomalies and their associated uncertainties are computed for the IBI region (26° N–56° N; 19° W–5° E) using the following Copernicus Marine products:

* '''IBI-MYP''' & '''IBI-INT''': IBI_MULTIYEAR_PHY_005_002 (reanalysis and interim datasets)

* '''GLO-MYP''': GLOBAL_REANALYSIS_PHY_001_031 (reanalysis)

* '''CORA''': INSITU_GLO_PHY_TS_OA_MY_013_052 (in situ observations)

* '''ARMOR''': MULTIOBS_GLO_PHY_TSUV_3D_MYNRT_015_012 (reprocessed observations)

The figure displays the ensemble mean (blue line) and the ensemble spread (grey shading). Further details on the indicator and data processing are provided in the corresponding Product User Manual (de Pascual-Collar et al., 2026) and in de Pascual-Collar et al. (2023), von Schuckmann et al. (2016), and von Schuckmann et al. (2018).

'''CONTEXT'''

Change in OHC is a key player in ocean-atmosphere interactions and sea level change (WCRP, 2018) and can impact marine ecosystems and human livelihoods (IPCC, 2019). Additionally, OHC is one of the six Global Climate Indicators recommended by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO, 2017).

In the last decades, the upper North Atlantic Ocean experienced a reversal of climatic trends for temperature and salinity. While the period 1990-2004 is characterized by decadal-scale ocean warming, the period 2005-2014 shows a substantial cooling and freshening. Such variations are discussed to be linked to ocean internal dynamics, and air-sea interactions (Fox-Kemper et al., 2021; Collins et al., 2019; Robson et al 2016). Together with changes linked to the connectivity between the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea (Masina et al., 2022; Potter and Lozier, 2004), these variations affect the temporal evolution of regional ocean heat content in the IBI region.

Recent studies (de Pascual-Collar et al., 2023) highlight the key role that subsurface water masses play in the OHC trends in the IBI region. These studies conclude that the vertically integrated trend is the result of different trends (both positive and negative) contributing at different layers. Therefore, the lack of representativeness of the OHC trends in the surface-intermediate waters (from 0 to 1000 m) causes the trends in intermediate and deep waters (from 1000 m to 2000 m) to be masked when they are calculated by integrating the upper layers of the ocean (from surface down to 2000 m).

Among the different periods of interannual variability identified by the indicator, a sustained increase in OHC from 2023 onwards is particularly noteworthy. This short-term trend results in 2024 exhibiting the highest OHC value recorded in the time series.

'''CMEMS KEY FINDINGS'''

The ensemble mean OHC anomaly time series over the Iberia–Biscay–Ireland region is characterized by marked interannual variability and a a statistically significant ocean warming trend of 0.55 ± 0.3 W m⁻² (99% confidence interval). In addition, the final year of the time series (2024) exhibits the highest OHC value recorded, following a period of sustained warming that began in 2023.

'''DOI (product):'''

https://doi.org/10.48670/mds-00316