Sea temperatures were highest in 2020

Even with the small COVID-19-related decline in global carbon emissions due to limited travel and other activity, ocean temperatures followed a record-breaking trend in 2020. A new study, authored by 20 people -science from 13 institutions around the world, account. highest ocean temperature since 1955 from surface level to depth of 2,000 meters.

The report was published on 13 January in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences and concluded by appealing to policymakers and others to consider the lasting damage that warmer oceans can cause as they seek to mitigate the effects of climate change.

“More than 90% of the extra heat caused by global warming is absorbed by the oceans, so ocean warming is a direct indicator of global warming – the warming we measured gives picture of long – term global warming, “said Lijing Cheng, lead paper author and associate professor of the International Center for Climate and Environmental Sciences at the Atmospheric Physics Institute (IAP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences ( CAS). Cheng is also affiliated with the CAS Center for Ocean Mega-Science. “However, as a result of the delayed ocean response to global warming, ocean change trends will last for at least several decades, so societies need to adapt to the inevitable effects of our unchanged warming. But there is still time to take action and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “

Using a method developed at IAP / CAS, the researchers measured ocean temperatures and ocean salinity down to 2,000 meters, recording data from all available views from the Ocean Database. World, headed by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and the National Center. for Environmental Information.

They found that, in 2020, the world’s top 2,000 meters of the world’s oceans caught 20 more zettajoules than in 2019. That heat could boil 1.3 billion kettles, in each with 1.5 liters of water.

“Why isn’t the ocean boiling?” Cheng asked. “Because the ocean is big. We can imagine how much energy the ocean can absorb and absorb, and, when it is slowly released, how big the ocean is. effect. “

The researchers reported other effects, such as an increase in the pattern of marine salinity and increased stratification due to the warming of the high altitudes faster than the deeper sections. Both changes have the potential to damage marine ecosystems.

“The new grows fresher; the sour becomes saltier,” Cheng said. “The ocean emits a lot of global warming heat, affecting global warming. However, the associated ocean changes are also a major threat to human and natural systems.”

Cheng noted the 2020 wildfires that affected Australia, parts of the Amazon region, and the west coast of the United States. “Warmer seas and warmer atmospheres and also encourage more intense rainfall in all storms, and especially hurricanes, increase the risk of flooding,” Cheng said. “Extreme fires like those seen in 2020 will become more common in the future. Warmer oceans produce more powerful storms, especially typhoons and hurricanes. “

The researchers will continue to monitor ocean temperatures and the effects of warming on other oceanic features, such as salinity and stratification.

“As more countries pledge to achieve ‘carbon neutrality’ or ‘zero carbon’ in the coming decades, special attention should be paid to the ocean,” said Cheng. “Any action or agreements needed to address warming the globalization of the understanding that the ocean has already absorbed heat and will continue to absorb too much energy into the Earth ‘s system until atmospheric carbon levels fall dramatically. ”