The 2021 Global Warming Report released by the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences shows that in 2021, the ocean will continue to warm up, becoming the warmest year since modern ocean observation records have been recorded. Temperatures in the Mediterranean, North Atlantic, Southern Ocean and North Pacific have all reached record highs.
The report, led by the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, jointly studied by 23 scientists from 14 research units around the world, and was published in the academic journal "Advances in Atmospheric Science" on the 11th, which is the world's first report on ocean warming in 2021.
Polar bears photographed by researchers in 2014. (Courtesy of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, photo by Wang Shaoqing)
"More than 90% of the heat from global warming is stored in the oceans, and the heat content of the ocean is less affected by natural fluctuations than the commonly used surface temperature, so the change in ocean heat content is one of the best indicators to judge whether the world is warming." Cheng Lijing, an associate researcher at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduced.
The latest data from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences shows that in 2021, the heat absorbed by the 2,000 meters of the upper layer of the global ocean increased by 14 times 10 to the 21st power joule compared with 2020, which is equivalent to about 500 times China's annual power generation in 2020.
Time series of 2,000 m change in thermal content in the upper oceans of the world from 1958 to 2021. (Courtesy of Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences)
"Every 10 years of the ocean over the past 80 years has been warmer than the previous 10 years." Cheng Lijing said that ocean warming has caused a series of consequences, including pushing up global sea level, reducing the ocean's absorption efficiency of carbon dioxide, increasing the probability of ocean heat waves, more strong typhoons/hurricanes, and more extreme rainfall, which have important impacts on human activities and ecosystems.
The report shows that ocean warming is more intense in the Southern Ocean, the mid-to-low latitude Atlantic, the northwest Pacific and other regions. Studies have shown that the increase in greenhouse gases is the main reason driving the spatial structure of ocean warming, in addition, industrial and biological aerosols, land use, etc. also have a certain impact on ocean warming.
In addition, the oceans' response to increases in greenhouse gases is slow and lagging behind, and effects such as ocean warming caused by past carbon emissions will persist for at least centuries. The research team believes that this phenomenon highlights the important role of the ocean in global climate change, and the impact of ocean warming needs to be fully integrated into climate risk assessment, climate impact and response.
The research has been supported by the Strategic Pilot Science and Technology Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Category B), the National Key R&D Program Global Change and Response Project, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Key Deployment Project of the Oceanographic Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. (Reporters Zhang Quan and Yuan Quan)
Source: Xinhua News Agency