GENEVA —
The upper ocean has absorbed more heat over the past decade than in any comparable period since systematic monitoring began, according to a peer-reviewed analysis of satellite and autonomous float data published this week.
The finding sharpens projections for sea-level rise and extreme weather, and it was quickly endorsed by scientists not involved in the study.
The evidence
The team combined readings from 3,900 profiling floats with satellite sea-surface temperature records and tide-gauge validation. The trend persisted across every ocean basin, with the strongest signal in the Atlantic.
What it means
Heat stored in the ocean now dominates the Earth's energy imbalance, the paper concludes. Because warmer water expands, even stable ice loss would continue raising sea levels for decades.
"The ocean is our planet's memory of climate change," the lead author said. "This is the memory being written."
Next steps
The authors call for expanding the float network into under-sampled polar waters and for consistent international funding of the observing system.
