Scientists are sounding the alarm about unprecedented ocean temperatures, with experts expressing a mixture of concern and bewilderment at the magnitude and duration of the heat wave. From the North Atlantic to the waters around Antarctica, the oceans have been experiencing record-breaking warmth for nearly a year, leaving researchers scrambling for explanations.

 

Brian McNoldy, a hurricane expert at the University of Miami, describes the situation as "astonishing" and "like an omen of the future." His sentiments are echoed by marine scientists like Rob Larter in Cambridge, England, who expresses discomfort at the unexpected departure from normal conditions and the lack of convincing explanations.

 

The global warming caused by fossil fuel emissions is a primary driver of the rising ocean temperatures. The oceans, acting as a vast heat sink, absorb much of this excess heat. While this trend of warming oceans is not new, the intensity and rapidity of the recent increase have caught many scientists off guard.

 

 

One factor contributing to the warming in the North Atlantic may be a reduction in pollution, particularly sulfur dioxide emissions from container ships. With fewer aerosols in the atmosphere to create cloud cover, more solar radiation reaches the ocean's surface, further heating the water. However, this alone cannot account for the extreme heat observed.

 

Complex feedback loops within Earth's weather patterns also play a role. Unusually clear skies and reduced windiness in the North Atlantic have allowed more sunlight to penetrate the water, while also limiting the mixing of colder water from deeper layers.

 

The implications of these warmer ocean temperatures are far-reaching. They can fuel more intense and prolonged hurricane seasons, as well as contribute to the decline of Arctic sea ice. The latter, in turn, affects ocean circulation patterns, with potential consequences for global climate systems.

 

Of particular concern is the potential disruption of crucial ocean currents, such as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which helps regulate climate around the world. As glaciers melt and introduce more freshwater into the Atlantic, there are fears that the AMOC could weaken, leading to dramatic shifts in weather patterns.

 

While it is too early to definitively attribute the ongoing heat wave to long-term changes in ocean currents, scientists warn of the possibility of far-reaching implications if such trends continue. The warming of the oceans underscores the urgent need for concerted global action to mitigate climate change and its impacts on marine ecosystems and weather patterns.

 

29.02.24

Source

 

And to think that just last week people were complaining about how cold it was... 

As they should. 

The higher the water temperature,the less dissolved oxygen. So can be serious problem for sea life. https://atlas-scientific.com/blog/how-does-temperature-affect-dissolved-oxygen/

Serious indeed 

Wow this is serious.

 

We better fly all the elites to an opulent conference to make some speeches about the proles needing to pay more tax. 

 

Better still, could someone call Harry on his private jet and ask him to buy some carbon credits ASAP. Before his polo match kicks off would be preferable. 

2 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Wow this is serious.

 

We better fly all the elites to an opulent conference to make some speeches about the proles needing to pay more tax. 

 

Better still, could someone call Harry on his private jet and ask him to buy some carbon credits ASAP. Before his polo match kicks off would be preferable. 

I hearted that.

I'm sure they have the plans already in progress, probably for the Maldives, where they can measure the temperature for themselves by swimming in it.

 

As usual "scientists claim" but not a single solution to be uttered by them. Can't keep the peasants in their place if they aren't afraid of something.

3 hours ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

And to think that just last week people were complaining about how cold it was... 

I'm not sure how much your observation has to do with thinking. At least with rational thinking. Like so many other denialists, you don't seem able to distinguish between climate and weather.

1 hour ago, morrobay said:

The higher the water temperature,the less dissolved oxygen. So can be serious problem for sea life. https://atlas-scientific.com/blog/how-does-temperature-affect-dissolved-oxygen/

Also, the lower the CO2 retaining capacity. A dramatic example of this is what happens when someone opens a can of warm soda.

5 hours ago, Social Media said:

From the North Atlantic to the waters around Antarctica, the oceans have been experiencing record-breaking warmth for nearly a year, leaving researchers scrambling for explanations.

 

5 hours ago, Social Media said:

Brian McNoldy, a hurricane expert at the University of Miami, describes the situation as "astonishing" and "like an omen of the future." His sentiments are echoed by marine scientists like Rob Larter in Cambridge, England, who expresses discomfort at the unexpected departure from normal conditions and the lack of convincing explanations.

 Scientist say they have no explanations

 

but in the very next paragraph

5 hours ago, Social Media said:

The global warming caused by fossil fuel emissions is a primary driver of the rising ocean temperatures.

 

 

11 minutes ago, johng said:

 

 Scientist say they have no explanations

 

but in the very next paragraph

 

 

Clearly, you don't understand what "primary driver" signifies. In this case it means that global warming is the ultimate source of this anomalous rise in temperature. But there are intermediate processes not yet fully understood that have led to the current situation.

16 minutes ago, johng said:

 

 Scientist say they have no explanations

 

but in the very next paragraph

 

 

Even propagandists make mistakes.

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Even propagandists make mistakes.

So do dyslexics.

1 hour ago, placeholder said:

Also, the lower the CO2 retaining capacity. A dramatic example of this is what happens when someone opens a can of warm soda.

Two different mechanisms however: Carbon dioxide chemically dissolves. CO2+H20 <>H2CO3 + energy. So more heat in the water favors this reversible reaction going to the left.  In the the case of oxygen the O2 molecules are physically trapped in the H2O water molecules, that form hydrogen bonded cages. So with higher water temperatures the water molecules are moving faster which prevents  the hydrogen bonds  forming . So the the 02 escapes.

10 minutes ago, morrobay said:

Two different mechanisms however: Carbon dioxide chemically dissolves. CO2+H20 <>H2CO3 + energy. So more heat in the water favors this reversible reaction going to the left.  In the the case of oxygen the O2 molecules are physically trapped in the H2O water molecules, that form hydrogen bonded cages. So with higher water temperatures the water molecules are moving faster which prevents  the hydrogen bonds  forming . So the the 02 escapes.

Thanks for the explanation. But, don't think that the oceans are actually releasing CO2 into the atmosphere. Certainly not on balance. Rather the uptake of CO2 is being slowed. Unlike oxygen, CO2 constitutes a double hex. Elevated levels of carbonic acid in the water lead to all sorts of dire consequences thanks to the lowered PH. Among other things, it inhibits mollusks, corals, foraminifera and other sea creatures from making shells. The level of Carbonic acid in the sea is still rising but at a somewhat lowered pace as the oceans get warmer. So the lessened uptake keeps more CO2 in the atmosphere than would otherwise be the case.

3 hours ago, placeholder said:

I'm not sure how much your observation has to do with thinking. At least with rational thinking. Like so many other denialists, you don't seem able to distinguish between climate and weather.

I believe it was sarcastic humor, with an emphasis on the humor, made me smile!

1 minute ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

I believe it was sarcastic humor, with an emphasis on the humor, made me smile!

The issue isn't whether it was sarcasm; but, rather, what was the target of the sarcasm.

Ah, yes. Just watched the movie, “The Day After”. Fortunately, I am already living in warmer climate and will not have to seek refuge in Mexico.

2 minutes ago, Wrwest said:

Ah, yes. Just watched the movie, “The Day After”. Fortunately, I am already living in warmer climate and will not have to seek refuge in Mexico.

For those of you who may be puzzled by Wrwest's comments in a thread about a warming North Atlantic, here's a summary of the movie I believe he's referring to:

"The Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science fiction disaster film[2] conceived, co-written, directed, co-produced by Roland Emmerich, based on the 1999 book The Coming Global Superstorm by Art Bell and Whitley Strieber, and starring Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sela Ward, Emmy Rossum, and Ian Holm. The film depicts catastrophic climatic effects following the disruption of the North Atlantic Ocean circulation, in which a series of extreme weather events usher in climate change and lead to a new ice age.[3][4]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_After_Tomorrow

'A hurricane expert from the university of Miami' is quoted as being behind many of these concerns. Not sure if that attaches authenticity to the foreboding expressed in the article. 

5 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

'A hurricane expert from the university of Miami' is quoted as being behind many of these concerns. Not sure if that attaches authenticity to the foreboding expressed in the article. 

Here's a link to another article. He doesn't feature in it at all but other climatologists do.

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/north-atlantic-el-nino-national-oceanic-and-atmospheric-administration-scientists-university-of-sussex-b2356711.html

Here's a link to another

https://www.carbonbrief.org/daily-brief/north-atlantic-temperature-anomaly-sparks-concern-among-climate-scientists/

and another

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/environment/article/2024/02/01/ocean-temperatures-reach-impressive-and-worrying-record-levels_6485327_114.html

Here we go Again, Scientists are at it againScaring people for nothing  

see for yourself what they think, 

 

One factor contributing to the warming in the North Atlantic may be a reduction in pollution, particularly sulfur dioxide emissions from container ships. With fewer aerosols in the atmosphere to create cloud cover, more solar radiation reaches the ocean's surface, further heating the water. However, this alone cannot account for the extreme heat observed.  

 

This just shows that they are just Dreamers and on drugs,

5 hours ago, johng said:

 

 Scientist say they have no explanations

 

but in the very next paragraph

 

 

Picky, picky! 😀

35 minutes ago, digger70 said:

Here we go Again, Scientists are at it againScaring people for nothing  

see for yourself what they think, 

 

One factor contributing to the warming in the North Atlantic may be a reduction in pollution, particularly sulfur dioxide emissions from container ships. With fewer aerosols in the atmosphere to create cloud cover, more solar radiation reaches the ocean's surface, further heating the water. However, this alone cannot account for the extreme heat observed.  

 

This just shows that they are just Dreamers and on drugs,

The proof that what you're denying about aerosols is nonsense is very clear. Occasionally, when there's a truly catastrophic eruption of a volcano that sends huge quantities of aerosols into the atmosphere, what invariably follows is global cooling.

 

Effect of volcanic eruptions significantly underestimated in climate projections

Where and when a volcano erupts is not something that humans can control, but volcanoes do play an important role in the global climate system. When volcanoes erupt, they can spew sulphur gases into the upper atmosphere, which forms tiny particles called aerosols that reflect sunlight back into space. For very large eruptions, such as Mount Pinatubo in 1991, the volume of volcanic aerosols is so large that it single-handedly causes global temperatures to drop.

https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/effect-of-volcanic-eruptions-significantly-underestimated-in-climate-projections

44 minutes ago, digger70 said:

Here we go Again, Scientists are at it againScaring people for nothing  

see for yourself what they think, 

 

One factor contributing to the warming in the North Atlantic may be a reduction in pollution, particularly sulfur dioxide emissions from container ships. With fewer aerosols in the atmosphere to create cloud cover, more solar radiation reaches the ocean's surface, further heating the water. However, this alone cannot account for the extreme heat observed.  

 

This just shows that they are just Dreamers and on drugs,

 

..and yet ships were encouraged, nay, mandated to have scrubbers fitted to reduce bad SO2. 🧐

6 hours ago, placeholder said:

Clearly, you don't understand

Clearly the "scientists" don't either !

 

6 hours ago, placeholder said:

there are intermediate processes not yet fully understood

But are definitely caused by "global warming"  and that warming is definitely caused by human activity ?

6 minutes ago, johng said:

Clearly the "scientists" don't either !

Really? It's false that scientists don't understand what "primary driver signifies? other Pavlovian comment from you.

8 minutes ago, johng said:

But are definitely caused by "global warming"  and that warming is definitely caused by human activity ?

Yes, definitely. I'm guessing you're about to invoke some critique based on the observation that no cause in the world can be characterized as 100% certain. If that were a meaningful comment, then all science and technology would be built on a heap of sand. In the real world, science and technology work, even nuclear physics are ultimately based on statistics. 

11 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Really? It's false that scientists don't understand

Says so right in the article above

 

11 hours ago, Social Media said:

with experts expressing a mixture of concern and bewilderment

 

11 hours ago, Social Media said:

Rob Larter in Cambridge, England, who expresses discomfort at the unexpected departure from normal conditions and the lack of convincing explanations.

 

11 minutes ago, placeholder said:

I'm guessing you're about to invoke some critique based on the observation that no cause in the world can be characterized as 100% certain.

You guess wrong,  I'm not a scientist just someone who's pointing out that the scientists are "bewildered"  "astonished"  and lacking in convincing explanations...but at the same time it's certainly 100% man made global warming because it just is  the scientists say it is so it is. Obviously not those scientists quoted in the article they must be conspiracy scientists how dare they admit they are baffled.

Well that certainly reads like they haven't a clue, why, or how to, if even possible (it isn't) to stop what may or may not be a problem.

 

BUT ... need a concerted effort now to combat climate change, when they don't know why it might be warming, or how to stop it.

 

I did post a thread much earlier, that some are looking at, for a cause of things heating up, but more so, total disaster before climate change or global warming would be an issue.