Australian scientists from the University of New South Wales found that the rate of global ocean warming almost doubled in 2010-2020 compared to 1999-2000. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Nature Communications (NatComms).
The oceans do most of the work; It absorbs more than 90% of the excess anthropogenic heat stored in the Earth’s climate system and moderates the rise in atmospheric temperatures.
“World ocean temperatures in 2023 will be the highest ever recorded. Sea levels rise because heat causes water to expand and ice to melt. “Ecosystems are also experiencing unprecedented heat stress and the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are changing rapidly,” said study author Professor Matthew England.
For the study, scientists brought together all available observations of ocean warming activity, including data from state-of-the-art sensors from the international ocean research program Argo. They then analyzed the heat absorption of the water masses and measured the role of each water body in changing the heat content of the ocean.
The researchers found that ocean warming is spreading across the globe, extending from the surface to deep-sea regions known as abyssal layers and covering every basin from the tropics to the polar regions. However, the distribution of ocean warming across regions is far from uniform.
The Southern Ocean has seen the largest increase in heat storage over the past two decades and contains almost as much anthropogenic heat as the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans combined. This includes two large bodies of water in the Southern Ocean, which together fill the 300-1500 meter depth range.
Exactly how heat absorption will occur in the coming years and beyond remains highly uncertain. For example, if oceans become less able to absorb heat, this will have serious consequences on the rate of future climate change.
The team is also calling for further international action for major carbon emitters to meet net-zero carbon targets as quickly as possible and limit damage from uncontrolled ocean warming.
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