I am currently a Ramón y Cajal with double affiliation (IMEDEA / UIB, Mallorca, SPAIN) since summer 2022. Previously, I have been a Senior Research Associate at Oregon State University, in the CEOAS department since 2010.
I got my Phd from Georgia Tech (Atlanta) in 2010 and an engineering degree in Hydraulics from the ENSEEIHT (France) in 2005.
Abstract: The Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, UIB/CSIC) hosted the International Symposium Coastal Resilience: Mitigating Threats for Healthy Oceans, bringing together more than 50 participants from over 15 international institutions. The symposium fostered interdisciplinary discussions on the main challenges facing coastal ecosystems, identifying key knowledge gaps, barriers, and innovative research directions to help define future scientific priorities and inform research investment.
Abstract: Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are prolonged anomalies of warm sea surface temperature (SST) that can disrupt marine ecosystems, physical climate processes, and human coastal activities. MHW definitions vary due to different stakeholders requirements, such as ecological scientists and climate scientists having differing yet specific thresholds and metrics. Here we introduce a new global database of daily MHW metrics: climatological baselines, threshold exceedances, SST anomalies, and categorical event classifications of severity, derived from the European Space Agency SST Climate Change Initiative (ESA SST CCI) climate data record (CDR; 1982–2021) version 3.0 and an extension from 2022–2024 provided as an interim climate data record (iCDR). Building on the widely used definition of MHWs, periods in which SST exceeds the local 90th percentile for 5 or more days, our database extends this framework by incorporating multiple baseline climatologies (including fixed 30-year periods and rolling 30-year windows, as well as the period for reanalysis 1993–2022), varied percentile thresholds (90th, 95th, 99th), and both raw and linearly detrended SST anomalies. We also implement alternative event duration criteria (minimum 10 and 30 d persistence) to classify longer-lasting warm events. In addition to warm extremes, we provide marine cold spell (MCS) indices derived from the 1st, 5th and 10th percentiles, enabling analysis of cold as well as warm ocean extremes within the same framework. All data products are provided at daily resolution on a 0.05° (∼ 5 km) grid, with outputs including daily climatological percentiles, SST anomalies and binary MHW flags with severity category indices. This comprehensive database provides a consistent foundation for detecting and analysing MHWs across time and space, enabling researchers to assess how methodological choices affect MHW characterisation. By offering multiple definitions in parallel, the database facilitates intercomparison studies and supports applications from climate monitoring and model evaluation to marine ecological impact assessment, thereby providing users with pre-made indices for extremes, with the ambition to be rolled out into the future with new data releases. The dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21835325 (Hayward et al., 2026).
Abstract: Bio-oceanographic modeling and population genomics were combined to assess connectivity of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean, with particular attention to the scale of its fishery management, and the potential role of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Uruguay as larval source zones. A bio-physical model, coupled with hydrodynamic outputs of a model experiment, incorporated larval vertical migration behavior and key species-specific traits to simulate dispersal pathways across the region. Population structure was assessed by using SNPs variability. Both approaches revealed substantial connectivity among sampled locations. Genomic population genetic analysis supported a single, well-mixed population across the study area, consistent with the extensive dispersal predicted by the model. These results highlight the need for management strategies tailored to the species' population structure and emphasize the importance of binational (Brazil-Uruguay) coordination for this transboundary fishery, which is already showing clear signs of overexploitation. Model simulations further showed that Uruguayan MPAs may act as important larval sources, particularly during winter recruitment under La Niña conditions, exporting propagules to non-protected areas in southern Brazil. By resolving the spatial and temporal scales of larval exchange, this study enhances regional understanding of connectivity patterns and supports evidence-based conservation planning for C. sapidus.
Abstract: This modeling study investigates the variability of the Agulhas Bank (AB) circulation, focusing on its connections to the local wind forcing and the Agulhas Current (AC) as well as to teleconnections to the tropical South Atlantic. The mean AB circulation is dominated by a westward flow composed of a coastal jet, an outer‐shelf flow influenced by AC intrusions, and a strong mid‐shelf jet shaped by both wind and AC dynamics. Empirical Orthogonal Function analyses of sea surface height (SSH) and temperature reveal patterns strongly linked to AC position and wind variability, with significant correlations between SSH anomalies and AC displacements. Passive tracer experiments show that while AC‐driven vertical transport can uplift deeper waters onto the shelf, wind‐driven upwelling and mixing are critical for surface expression. Tracer distribution is modulated by both wind and AC transport with contrasting spatial impacts. Furthermore, the study identifies a teleconnection with the tropical South Atlantic, as coastal trapped waves propagate interannual SSH variability southward, though their influence on AB circulation appears limited in dynamic significance. Overall, AB circulation emerges as a complex interplay of local and remote forcings, with variability largely governed by the AC and wind, and modulated by occasional tropical signals.
Abstract: Between mid-2010 and early 2012, the Southern Patagonian Continental Shelf (SPCS) experienced an exceptionally intense and persistent phytoplankton bloom, during which chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations doubled the climatological mean during the austral autumn and winter. As a result, annual Chl-a levels exceeded the long-term average by more than 80%. Here, we investigate the climatic and oceanographic drivers underlying the magnitude and duration of this anomalous event. Using 24 years of ocean color observations combined with atmospheric reanalysis data and hydrodynamic model outputs, we identify large-scale atmosphere-ocean coupling associated with the concurrent multi-year La Niña (LN) and positive Southern Annular Mode (SAM) phases as the dominant driver of the extraordinary bloom. At the regional scale, this sustained climate event enhanced wind-driven exchange between western and eastern Patagonia, promoting the intrusion of low-salinity (<34.5), potentially nutrient-rich Pacific water through the Magellan Strait into the Atlantic Ocean (>0.12 Sv). Additional processes, including episodic wind weakening over the SPCS, a reduced autumn-winter mixed layer depth (MLD), and associated modifications of the northward-directed shelf and offshore transport, likely further enhanced phytoplankton production, distinguishing this event from other comparable climatic episodes. These findings highlight the critical role of interactions between major climate variability modes in shaping ocean productivity in the SPCS.
