Ocean Warming Is Accelerating Faster Than Thought, New Research Finds

January 15, 2019

In yet another sobering announcement about the ability of nations around the globe reverse the effects of climate change, A new analysis, published Thursday in the journal Science, found that the oceans are heating up 40 percent faster on average than a United Nations panel estimated five years ago. The researchers also concluded that ocean temperatures have broken records for the past several years in a row with 2018 being the “warmest year on record for the Earth’s oceans.”

Because almost all the excess heat absorbed by the planet ends up stored in their waters, as the planet has warmed, the oceans have provided a critical buffer. They have slowed the effects of climate change by absorbing 93 percent of the heat trapped by the greenhouse gases humans pump into the atmosphere, which is currently the only thing saving the rest of the planet from massive warming.

At the same time, the rapidly increasing ocean temperatures are already harming marine ecosystems and causing raising sea levels and destructive storm surges that threaten human health and welfare and critical infrastructure of Alaska Native coastal communities. As the heating continues these impacts will become more destructive.

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Photo by NOAA on Unsplash