Scientists have found the deep ocean is also warming along with the climate in general.
Researchers from the University of Exeter and the University of Brest found that most of the heating is held in the deep ocean (deeper than 700m/2100ft.)
The research was published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. The paper is titled “The redistribution of anthropogenic excess heat is a key driver of warming in the North Atlantic.” Up to now, most of the warming caused by humans has been absorbed in the oceans. It is estimated that our seas have absorbed 90 of the warming caused by us.
According to Dr. Marie-José Messias from the University of Exeter:
“As our planet warms, it’s vital to understand how the excess heat taken up by the ocean is redistributed in the ocean interior all the way from the surface to the bottom, and it is important to take into account the deep ocean to assess the growth of Earth’s ‘energy imbalance… As well as finding that the deep ocean is holding much of this excess heat, our research shows how ocean currents redistribute heat to different regions… We found that this redistribution was a key driver of warming in the North Atlantic.”
You can find out more and the research paper here.
(Featured image credit: Marie-Jose Messias)
