Another Record: Ocean Warming Continues through 2021 despite La Nina Conditions

The increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from human activities traps heat within the climate system and increases ocean heat content (OHC). Here, we provide the first analysis of recent OHC changes through 2021 from two international groups. The world ocean, in 2021, was the...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advances in Atmospheric Sciences
Main Authors: Cheng, Lijing, Abraham, John, Trenberth, Kevin E., Fasullo, John, Boyer, Tim, Mann, Michael E., Zhu, Jiang, Wang, Fan, Locarnini, Ricardo, Li, Yuanlong, Zhang, Bin, Tan, Zhetao, Yu, Fujiang, Wan, Liying, Chen, Xingrong, Song, Xiangzhou, Liu, Yulong, Reseghetti, Franco, Simoncelli, Simona, Gouretski, Viktor, Chen, Gengxin, Mishonov, Alexey, Reagan, Jim
Format: Report
Language:English
Published: SCIENCE PRESS 2022
Subjects:
La Nina
ocean heat
ocean warming
attribution
observation
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
SEA-LEVEL RISE
SOUTHERN-OCEAN
HEAT-CONTENT
TROPICAL CYCLONES
GLOBAL HEAT
VARIABILITY
PACIFIC
CIRCULATION
IMPACT
DRIVEN
Southern Ocean
Pacific
Indian
North Atlantic
Online Access:http://ir.qdio.ac.cn/handle/337002/177333
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-022-1461-3
Description
Summary:The increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from human activities traps heat within the climate system and increases ocean heat content (OHC). Here, we provide the first analysis of recent OHC changes through 2021 from two international groups. The world ocean, in 2021, was the hottest ever recorded by humans, and the 2021 annual OHC value is even higher than last year's record value by 14 +/- 11 ZJ (1 zetta J = 10(21) J) using the IAP/CAS dataset and by 16 +/- 10 ZJ using NCEI/NOAA dataset. The long-term ocean warming is larger in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans than in other regions and is mainly attributed, via climate model simulations, to an increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations. The year-to-year variation of OHC is primarily tied to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). In the seven maritime domains of the Indian, Tropical Atlantic, North Atlantic, Northwest Pacific, North Pacific, Southern oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea, robust warming is observed but with distinct inter-annual to decadal variability. Four out of seven domains showed record-high heat content in 2021. The anomalous global and regional ocean warming established in this study should be incorporated into climate risk assessments, adaptation, and mitigation.

Similar Items