[MCN] "Our study also suggests that the ocean’s ability to sequester heat is weakening."

[Lance Olsen]

Article
Published: 06 February 2025
Observed multi-decadal increase in the surface ocean’s thermal inertia

Chaehyeong Lee <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02245-w#auth-Chaehyeong-Lee-Aff1-Aff4>, Hajoon Song <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02245-w#auth-Hajoon-Song-Aff1-Aff2>, Yeonju Choi <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02245-w#auth-Yeonju-Choi-Aff1>, Ajin Cho <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02245-w#auth-Ajin-Cho-Aff1> & John Marshall <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02245-w#auth-John-Marshall-Aff3> 
Nature Climate Change <https://www.nature.com/nclimate> (2025)Cite this article <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02245-w#citeas>
1258 Accesses
681 Altmetric
Metricsdetails <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02245-w/metrics>
Abstract
The ocean’s surface layer has a crucial role in Earth’s climate, absorbing excess atmospheric heat, thereby regulating global temperatures. Here, using global daily sea surface temperature (SST) data, we document a notable increase in the persistence of SST anomalies across the global ocean since 1982. This trend is also evident in frequency space, showing a decreased variance in SSTs on timescales shorter than a month, but a slight increase on longer timescales. A simple stochastic model attributes this prolonged memory to three key factors––a deepening of the surface mixed layer, a weakening of oceanic forcing and reduced damping rates. The first two factors decrease the variance on shorter timescales, while the third increases it on longer timescales. Our findings have great relevance to the observed increase in the duration of marine heatwaves and the associated heightened thermal threats to marine organisms. Our study also suggests that the ocean’s ability to sequester heat is weakening.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The big challenge is still to deliver emissions reductions at the pace and scale needed, especially in a world where economies are driven by consumption.”

Sonja van Renssen.The inconvenient truth of failed climate policies. Nature Climate Change  MAY 2018

Published online: 27 April 2018 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0155-4 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“What we are witnessing is a temper tantrum against the mere suggestion that there are limits to what we can consume.” 

Naomi Klein
https://theintercept.com/2019/09/15/trump-straws-plastic/




-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://bigskynet.org/pipermail/missoula-community-news_bigskynet.org/attachments/20250224/90062179/attachment.htm>