Open AccessPast decade saw unprecedented warming in the deep ocean
Author(s) -
Schultz Colin
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1002/2013eo320019
Subject(s) - sink (geography) , global warming , environmental science , planet , energy balance , climatology , meteorology , astrobiology , oceanography , atmospheric sciences , geology , climate change , geography , physics , cartography , astrophysics , thermodynamics
Since 1975 the global surface ocean has shown a pronounced—though wavering—warming trend. Starting in 2004, however, that warming seemed to stall. Researchers measuring the Earth's total energy budget—the balance of sunlight streaming in compared to the amount of light and heat leaving from the top of the atmosphere—saw that the planet was still holding on to more heat than it was letting out. However, with that energy not warming the surface ocean—a traditionally important energy sink—scientists were not sure where it went. It became known, in some circles, as a case of “missing heat.”