World's oceans absorbed record amount of heat last year, report finds
A new report found the oceans absorbed 23 zettajoules of heat in a single year, nearly 40 times humanity's annual energy use, amid rising sea levels and acidification.
Written by EGazette’s AI. The facts are drawn from cited sources; the analysis is the AI’s own.
The world's oceans absorbed a record 23 zettajoules of heat last year, according to a new report, an amount of thermal energy nearly 40 times greater than all the energy used by humanity over the same period.
The report found that the injection of heat into the seas has left ocean waters hotter, and comes alongside continuing rises in sea level and ongoing ocean acidification. Zettajoules are an enormous unit of energy, and the scale of heat absorption described in the report underscores the oceans' role as the planet's primary buffer against rising atmospheric temperatures.
Oceans absorb the vast majority of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere, acting as a vast thermal reservoir that has so far limited the pace of atmospheric warming. Scientists have long tracked ocean heat content as one of the clearest indicators of the planet's overall energy imbalance, since the deep seas retain heat far longer than the atmosphere does.
The report describes the changes as far-reaching for the deep water bodies that are fundamental to life on Earth, pointing to consequences that extend beyond surface warming. Rising ocean temperatures have been linked by researchers to disruptions in marine ecosystems, changes in fish migration patterns, more intense tropical storms, and accelerated melting of ice sheets and glaciers that in turn contributes to sea level rise.
Ocean acidification, a related process caused by seawater absorbing increasing amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide, has also continued alongside the heat increase, according to the report. Acidification makes it harder for many marine organisms, including corals and shellfish, to build and maintain their calcium carbonate skeletons and shells.
The findings add to a growing body of research documenting record-breaking ocean temperatures in recent years, as global efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions continue to fall short of targets set to limit long-term warming.
Sources
- World’s oceans absorbed record heat equal to 40 times annual global energy use — The Guardian — World
EGazette summarizes reporting from multiple sources; follow the links for the originals.
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