Post by Andrei Tchentchik on Mar 4, 2020 15:44:24 GMT 2
(.#A.059).- The oceans are heating up, again and again. 14 Jan. 2020.
The oceans are heating up, again and again. 14 Jan. 2020.
By: Brice Louvet, science editor
January 14, 2020, 11:47 a.m.
Studies show that ocean temperatures around the world hit a record high in 2019, also reflecting accelerated global warming.
When we talk about global warming, we attach great importance to the records of earth temperatures. But it must be remembered that the oceans absorb more than 90% of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases. "That's why if you want to understand global warming, you have to measure ocean warming," said John Abraham, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, USA.
These measurements have already confirmed that the oceans are warming. And this process, dramatic for the climate, is continuing. This is demonstrated by a recent study carried out by an international team of researchers from 11 institutes.
A heat record
For this work, the researchers drew on data from the Institute for Atmospheric Physics (IAP) in China and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States.
After processing all of this information, they found that ocean temperatures in 2019 were about 0.075 degrees Celsius higher than the annual average recorded between 1981 and 2010. Since the surveys began, the oceans have simply never been this cold. hot.
It might not seem like much on paper. But as the researchers point out in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Science, the amount of thermal energy required to drive such an increase is 228 sextillion (228 billion billion billion) joules.
"This means that the oceans have absorbed the energy equivalent of 3.6 billion Hiroshima atomic bombs (63 billion Joules) in 25 years," said Lijing Cheng, associate professor of oceanography at IAP.
The data also suggests that the speed at which the oceans are warming is also accelerating. The rate of warming from 1987 to 2019 is indeed four and a half times faster than that recorded from 1955 to 1986.
This oceanic warming, notes the researcher, is "very probably irreversible". In other words, this means that in addition to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions to "limit the damage", we will also have to adapt to the changes brought about by this rise in temperatures.
Ocean temperatures are reaching a record level. Credits: Pixabay
Many consequences
Because warmer oceans indeed imply great upheavals. In addition to disrupting the water cycle and strengthening storms, the melting of the ice is also accelerated, which leads to an even more marked rise in sea level. At this rate, some researchers estimate that the sea level could rise by two meters by the end of the century.
Warmer waters also tend to dissolve less oxygen. In other words, to be less breathable for fish and crustaceans. In a recent UCIN report, we learned that the world's oceans lost around 2% of their oxygen between 1960 and 2010. There are also 700 “dead zones” (parts of the ocean completely devoid of oxygen) versus 45 counted about sixty years ago.
F I N .
The oceans are heating up, again and again. 14 Jan. 2020.
By: Brice Louvet, science editor
January 14, 2020, 11:47 a.m.
Studies show that ocean temperatures around the world hit a record high in 2019, also reflecting accelerated global warming.
When we talk about global warming, we attach great importance to the records of earth temperatures. But it must be remembered that the oceans absorb more than 90% of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases. "That's why if you want to understand global warming, you have to measure ocean warming," said John Abraham, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, USA.
These measurements have already confirmed that the oceans are warming. And this process, dramatic for the climate, is continuing. This is demonstrated by a recent study carried out by an international team of researchers from 11 institutes.
A heat record
For this work, the researchers drew on data from the Institute for Atmospheric Physics (IAP) in China and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States.
After processing all of this information, they found that ocean temperatures in 2019 were about 0.075 degrees Celsius higher than the annual average recorded between 1981 and 2010. Since the surveys began, the oceans have simply never been this cold. hot.
It might not seem like much on paper. But as the researchers point out in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Science, the amount of thermal energy required to drive such an increase is 228 sextillion (228 billion billion billion) joules.
"This means that the oceans have absorbed the energy equivalent of 3.6 billion Hiroshima atomic bombs (63 billion Joules) in 25 years," said Lijing Cheng, associate professor of oceanography at IAP.
The data also suggests that the speed at which the oceans are warming is also accelerating. The rate of warming from 1987 to 2019 is indeed four and a half times faster than that recorded from 1955 to 1986.
This oceanic warming, notes the researcher, is "very probably irreversible". In other words, this means that in addition to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions to "limit the damage", we will also have to adapt to the changes brought about by this rise in temperatures.
Ocean temperatures are reaching a record level. Credits: Pixabay
Many consequences
Because warmer oceans indeed imply great upheavals. In addition to disrupting the water cycle and strengthening storms, the melting of the ice is also accelerated, which leads to an even more marked rise in sea level. At this rate, some researchers estimate that the sea level could rise by two meters by the end of the century.
Warmer waters also tend to dissolve less oxygen. In other words, to be less breathable for fish and crustaceans. In a recent UCIN report, we learned that the world's oceans lost around 2% of their oxygen between 1960 and 2010. There are also 700 “dead zones” (parts of the ocean completely devoid of oxygen) versus 45 counted about sixty years ago.
F I N .
