https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-42468-z
"The ocean absorbs >90% of anthropogenic heat in the Earth system, moderating
global atmospheric warming. However, it remains unclear how this heat uptake is
distributed by basin and across water masses. Here we analyze historical and
recent observations to show that ocean heat uptake has accelerated dramatically
since the 1990s, nearly doubling during 2010–2020 relative to 1990–2000. Of the
total ocean heat uptake over the Argo era 2005–2020, about 89% can be found in
global mode and intermediate water layers, spanning both hemispheres and both
subtropical and subpolar mode waters. Due to anthropogenic warming, there are
significant changes in the volume of these water-mass layers as they warm and
freshen. After factoring out volumetric changes, the combined warming of these
layers accounts for ~76% of global ocean warming. We further decompose these
water-mass layers into regional water masses over the subtropical Pacific and
Atlantic Oceans and in the Southern Ocean. This shows that regional mode and
intermediate waters are responsible for a disproportionate fraction of total
heat uptake compared to their volume, with important implications for
understanding ongoing ocean warming, sea-level rise, and climate impacts."
Via Diane A, who wrote:
Ocean heat content is up six times since the 1980s! From the 1960s to the
1980s, the oceans stored ~75 zettajoules of heat per month. Now it’s 450.
That’s because 90% of the excess heat from human-caused climate change, due
primarily to the burning of fossil fuels, is retained by the oceans.
Thank goodness for our oceans. If it weren’t for them, we’d be burning up.
Heating water takes much more heat, and the temperature increases more
slowly. BUT this heat is not lost, it’s stored and is already coming back to
haunt us. It’s a buffer but the bill is coming due, with interest.
Of course this shows no sign of slowing right now. To the contrary, the pace
has doubled since the 1990s, as per a new paper: “Ocean heat uptake has
accelerated dramatically since the 1990s, nearly doubling during 2010–2020
relative to 1990–2000.”
Hotter oceans = more and more intense heat waves (land and marine), more
extreme rainfall, stronger hurricanes with more rapid intensification… in a
nutshell, more extreme weather.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
