Humans are altering the atmosphere around them as ocean temperatures build at a relentless rate.
A new summary of two international datasets shows that the wave of warmth in our oceans hit a new peak in 2021.
Last year's ocean warming was no exception. The world's ocean temperatures have exceeded anything we've measured before in the last six years.
Since reliable recordings of climate change began in the late 1950s, each decade has hosted warmer oceans than the last. The authors of the summary say there has been an "unambiguous" increase in marine temperatures.
The heat is being felt. The North Pacific Ocean, the North Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea all had the hottest marine temperatures on record last year.
The upper 2,000 meters in our oceans absorbed 14 more Zettajoules in 2021.
The difference is equivalent to dropping seven more bombs into the ocean. The scientists calculated that human warming of the ocean was equivalent to dropping five bombs into the ocean per second.
Michael Mann, a climate scientist from Pennsylvania State University, says the oceans absorb most of the heating from human carbon emissions.
We broke ocean heat content records this year and will continue to do so until we reach net zero emissions. The actions to combat climate change are based on better awareness and understanding of the oceans.
Regional fluctuations in temperature and circulation can change our current trajectory if we don't cut emissions.
When winds and ocean currents change, the northern parts of the Pacific Ocean tend to be cooler than the southern waters.
Warming in the North Pacific ocean has remained "broad and deep-reaching" despite the minor cooling effect swinging into action in late 2021, despite this minor cooling effect swinging into action in late 2021, despite this minor cooling effect swinging into action in late 2021, despite this minor cooling effect swinging into action in late
Warming anomalies in the middle of the North Pacific were measured at 2C near the surface and 1C 300 meters deep.
The authors say that the relentless increases in ocean heat content have direct implications for the frequency, intensity, and extent of marine heat waves and other 'hot spots' within the ocean.
The notorious 'Blob' that is popping up off the coast of the Pacific Northwest in the United States and southwest Canada is an example. The largest ocean heat wave on record grew and spread for years, decimating food webs along the way.
The cool La Nia period was not enough to stop the swirl of hot ocean that persisted beneath a "high-pressure heat dome" that at times exceeded 40C.
"Although in the top 10 warmest years, global surface temperatures for 2021 are not the highest on record because of La Nia conditions in the tropical Pacific, among other things," says mechanical engineer John Abraham from the University of St. Thomas.
Long-term ocean trends show that the Atlantic and Southern oceans are absorbing the most heat from our greenhouse gas emissions.
Sea water expands when the ocean absorbs heat. If the marine heat in our southern oceans chips away at the ice sheet, it could cause a domino effect, destabilizing the structure, adding more water to the ocean and sinking more of our coastlines.
Lijing Cheng, an atmospheric scientist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, says that warmer oceans make weather systems more powerful and increase precipitation and flood risk.
Incorporating ocean temperatures into our climate models is the best way to prepare for disasters.
There are still major uncertainties and knowledge gaps in monitoring ocean warming. We will be missing out on a fundamental part of climate change if we don't improve awareness and understanding of these dynamics.
"O]cean warming leaves more carbon dioxide in the air and reduces the efficiency of carbon capture in the ocean," says Cheng.
Climate change mitigation goals can be tracked by monitoring and understanding the heat and carboncoupling in the future.
The study was published in a journal.
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