American scientists led by Peter Gleckler estimated the rate of global warming. It turned out that the amount of anthropogenic heat absorbed by the World Ocean has doubled since 1997.
Anthropogenic human activity leads to an increase in thermal energy on the Earth, which is the cause of global warming. At the same time, the ocean absorbs up to 90% of the heat, preventing it from entering the atmosphere.
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Most of the heat is found in the top 700 meters of the ocean. However, scientists were interested in processes at a depth of over 700 meters. To determine the amount of heat at such depths, scientists used data from a variety of sources. In particular, experts have studied the records of the Challenger naval expedition made at the end of the 19th century. They also used ten-year measurements of ocean surface temperature and modern data.
World Ocean Warming Research Results
Based on the data studied, scientists have created climate models that have shown the contribution of anthropogenic impact to the warming of the world's oceans. It turned out that over the past 18 years, the World Ocean has absorbed the same amount of thermal energy as over a period of 132 years. In addition, 35% of this heat is contained at a depth of over 700 meters.
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The Earth's hydrosphere has a large volume, and water has a high heat capacity, so even the upper layers are heated only by a few tenths of a degree. But the more heat in the ocean, the less it can absorb it. This leads to the fact that the unabsorbed thermal energy remains in the atmosphere.
Scientists' findings support other studies
Previous studies have shown that the average air temperature near the Earth's surface between 1906 and 2005 increased by 0.74 degrees. Moreover, the rate of warming in the second half of this period is twice as fast as in the first half. Thus, the new study proves once again that global warming is due to anthropogenic impact.
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Early research also supports this fact. Numerous observations carried out by independent research groups have shown that global warming is associated with an increase in sea level (due to its expansion when heated), melting of glaciers, an increase in the heat content of the ocean, and an increase in humidity. The probability of a coincidence of such events is practically zero.