Science Source
How fast are the oceans warming?
- States that climate change from human activities mainly results from the energy imbalance in Earth's climate system caused by rising concentrations of heat-trapping gases
- States that about 93% of the energy imbalance accumulates in the ocean as increased ocean heat content (OHC)
- States that the ocean record of this imbalance is much less affected by internal variability and is thus better suited for detecting and attributing human influences than more commonly used surface temperature records. Recent observation-based estimates show rapid warming of Earth's oceans over the past few decades
- Finds that this warming has contributed to increases in rainfall intensity, rising sea levels, the destruction of coral reefs, declining ocean oxygen levels, and declines in ice sheets; glaciers; and ice caps in the polar regions
- Concludes that recent estimates of observed warming resemble those seen in models, indicating that models reliably project changes in OHC
Related Content
Headline
Dec 9, 2019 | The New York Times
World’s Oceans Are Losing Oxygen Rapidly, Study Finds
Science Source
| Nature
Quantification of ocean heat uptake from changes in atmospheric O2 and CO2 composition
L. Resplandy, R. F. Keeling, Y. Eddebbar et al
Science Source
| Science
Anthropogenic Warming of Earth's Climate System
Sydney Levitus, John I. Antonov, Julian Wang et al
Science Source
| Science
Detection of Anthropogenic Climate Change in the World's Oceans
Tim P. Barnett, David W. Pierce, Reiner Schnur
