Global ocean temperatures have spiked dangerously in the past month and a half
Enter El Niño
Sorry to distract from the $250,000,000 Royal Coronation but it is worth noting global ocean temperatures have spiked dangerously in the past month and a half. Scientists are calling the ongoing increase in global ocean temperatures “unprecedented,” as a new unexplained anomaly produces graphs that are way out of the norm. (See graph)
Known as the OISST (Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature) the current report is comprised of data collated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites and buoys. The report charts record breaking temperatures skating far higher than any previous year. This is truly a much more serious problem than seems obvious at first, for several reasons.
- The first is that the ocean may well have reached its limit for absorbing excess atmospheric heat.
- The second is that El Nino seem to be returning.
- The third is that warmer oceans mean expanding ocean volume, which also contributes to sea level rise.
Ocean heat saturation
The ocean has been absorbing excess heat from global warming for decades, but all evidence now points to this process being at an end. And that means air and ground temperatures are poised for bad things to happen to humans. Let’s be clear, the global climate catastrophe is much much further along than most people understand. This includes joe citizen who understands that this is a “real” problem, but things someone will take care of it before it’ s too late. Maybe Elon Musk or George Soros.
The big El Niño thing
This is simple and scary: the Pacific has been in an extended La Niña cycle, which is a natural cyclical phenomenon that tends to cool the planet. In spite of that, the last eight years have been the warmest on record. So in a sense, La Niña has been disguising the meta effects of global warming. But that’s about to be over.
It bears rephrasing: Even with a cooling cycle in place for the past eight years, the planet has continued to set global records for average atmospheric temperatures.
Expanding ocean volume: sea levels
News reports tend to focus on polar ice melting as a contributor because it is an obvious cause and effect scenario.
But thermal expansion of trillions and trillions of gallons of sea water in the planet’s oceans actually contributes more to sea level rise as the waters heat up. It’s basic physics: every substance swells (increases it’s volume) when heated. There is nothing that is going to turn this around anytime soon.