The Earth system is out of balance and the temperature of the oceans breaks all records
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There is no more time to postpone the discussion on global warming, and in particular on the situation of the oceans, the subject of several calls from experts. As reported by an article published on The Conversationedited by Moninya Roughanprofessor of oceanography at the University of New South Wales in Sydney (Australia), In March and April, ocean surface temperatures broke all historical records, reaching peaks of 21C.
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The seas and oceans act as a sort of air conditioner for the Earth, explains Roughan, absorbing heat from the atmosphere and redistributing it more or less evenly around the globe. But there are obviously limits and, above all, however slowly, the heat absorbed by the oceans sooner or later it will have to be re-introduced into the atmosphere.
“Earth’s climate system is in energy imbalance”, reads an article published in Earth System Science Data. “The heat has been building up continuously over the past few decades, warming the ocean, the land, the cryosphere and the atmosphere.”
According to the study, between 1971 and 2020, the “Earth system” has accumulated an enormous amount of energy in the form of heat, measured as the difference between the incident solar radiation and the reflected one: about 89% of this heat has been absorbed by oceans.
And what is especially worrying is the fact that, for the period from 2006 to 2020, researchers have observed a surge in the rate of warming compared to previous years. “This planetary warming – continues the article – is caused by human beings and involves unprecedented changes to the Earth system, with negative impacts on ecosystems and human systems. As long as this imbalance persists (or even increases) planet Earth will continue to gain energy, increasing planetary warming”. For this reason, the research group explicitly requests that this “energy imbalance” of the Earth be included in the so-called Global Stocktake – GST) of the Paris Agreement.
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As regards the situation of the oceans in particular, according to Roughan the current peak in temperatures could be a “warning” from El Niño of his imminent return. El Niño is a climatic pattern that interrupts the normal circulation of winds along the equator line and, consequently, of ocean currents. This causes a drastic reduction of the so-called phenomenon of upwellingin which deep ocean waters rise not only cooling the surface state of the ocean, but also enriching it with nutrients that fish eat, such as phytoplankton.
El Niño’s counterpart, La Nina, has exactly the opposite effects and, as the National Ocean Service website reports, their alternation cycle typically lasts from 9 to 12 months, but can sometimes last for years. According to experts, the arrival of a new El Niño could cause a further global warming of 0.2°C, making us approach or even surpass the dreaded +1.5°C.
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