The critical role of the Southern Ocean
It is a well-known fact that the world's oceans absorb about 90 percent of the Earth's excess heat caused by human-induced carbon dioxide emissions.
However, a vast majority of that heat is taken up by just one ocean. A new peer-reviewed study from the University of New South Wales (Australia) has shown that the Southern Ocean absorbs most of this excess heat.
The Southern Ocean is shaded in blue. Image courtesy Wikipedia.
Below are some key excerpts from this study, courtesy of EurekAlert.
Strong westerly winds typically surround Antarctica and these winds influence how the waters absorb heat, and around Antarctica, they can exert this influence while remaining uninterrupted by land masses. This is key to the Southern Ocean being responsible for pretty much all of the net global ocean heat uptake, according to Maurice Huguenin, a PhD candidate from the UNSW and the lead author of this peer-reviewed study.
These winds also blow over what is effectively an infinite distance, cycling uninterrupted at southern latitudes, which continuously draws cold water masses to the surface. The waters are pushed northward, readily absorbing vast quantities of heat from the atmosphere, before the excess heat is pumped into the ocean’s interior around 45-55°S, according to Huguenin.
Unfortunately, this additional heat that is added to the oceans is causing ice to melt and ocean water to expand, leading to sea level rise.
The stormy Southern Ocean. Image courtesy NOAA.
"If the Southern Ocean continues to account for the vast majority of heat uptake until 2100, we might see its warmth increase by up to seven times more than what we have already seen up to today," according to the study's authors.
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