Monday, March 13, 2017

COTW: Oceans Warming Faster Than Expected

This chart shows the alarming rate at which the Earth's oceans are warming.  The researchers said that it is 13% more than estimated by the UN's climate panel and has doubled since 1992.  Thermal expansion accounts for 50% of the rise in sea levels.  The study is published in a peer reviewed journal by NOAA, the Chinese Academy of Science, and St. Thomas University.  Data was obtained from a network of 3,000 floating robotic floats that measure temperature and salinity down to a depth of 2000 meters.  In some areas the increased temperature is causing a dense layer of oxygen-poor surface that affects plankton, which is at the base of the aquatic food chain.  Also, some of the oceans most-consumed human seafood such as tuna inhabits lower depths wear the water was cooler than it is now.  Some species have been detected moving their habitat range an average of fifty miles north since 1960.