The study on deep-ocean warming, using data collected from Deep Argo floats(meaning deep-sea robots), revealed strong evidence of a trend in a gradual increase in the oceans’ temperature over time. The results are enlightening in terms of the role of the global ocean in climate change, and provide important lessons for predicting environmental changes in the future.
Diving Into The Warm Secrets of the Deep
A paper publishing this week in Geophysical Research Letters looks at the leading questions that Oceanographers ask about the deep ocean, particularly how temperature is changing and potentially driving ice shelf collapse.
The Deep Argo float data can measure ocean temperature and salinity down to depths of 6,000 meters, allowing for much greater accuracy than the previous report.
Prior to the availability of this technology, estimates in deep-ocean warming were subject to large uncertainties because of the sparseness of direct temperature data there.
Greg Johnson, lead author of the study and an oceanographer at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Lab, said that being able to dig deeper into where this heat goes in the ocean is important for understanding how much it will warm the atmosphere in the real world and how certain we can be thereofFuture sea-level rise will be driven by thermal expansion in partCurrent changes in heat in typical regions are driven by either transport (caused by growing or shrinkage) or buoyancy fluxes.
Mapping the Ocean’s Conveyor System
The research also gives key insights into the global ocean conveyor belt, known as meridional overturning circulation. These currents form an enormous interlocked system that serves as a massive climate and weather engine for the planet.
When the warmer waters in the Southern Ocean and Northern Seas make their way along this conveyor belt, they also bring heat northward, disrupting the fragile balance of ocean systems around the planet.
Being able to explain the regional patterns of deep-ocean warming assists in predicting how changes in this circulation might impact on not just circulation itself (e.g. sea level and tropical cyclones), but other aspects of the ocean as well, including net primary productivity.
That sort of information is crucial to refining climate models and arming society for what could be coming as the planet warms. By gaining a better understanding of deep-ocean warming, we could improve projections and interventions to combat climate change and prepare for it.
Conclusion
The new research, which relies on Deep Argo data, offers a much more accurate portrayal of the long-term warming of the deep ocean and with it reduced uncertainty over how fast this part of the world is heating up and where. It is important information to help us understand the oceans’ role in climate change and improve our ability to predict and prepare for the profound impacts on sea levels, weather patterns, and ecosystem health. As the U.S. and other nations face increasing hardships from a changing climate, studies such as this one provide key insights for shaping both policy and community-level change efforts to help sustain humanity in a warming world.
