Past decade saw unprecedented warming in the deep ocean
Tuesday, July 2, 2013 - 15:31
in Earth & Climate
From 1975 on, the global surface ocean has shown a pronounced-though wavering-warming trend. Starting in 2004, however, that warming seemed to stall. Researchers measuring the Earth's total energy budget-the balance of sunlight streaming in compared to the amount of light and heat leaving from the top of the atmosphere-saw that the planet was still holding on to more heat than it was letting out. But with that energy not going into warming the surface ocean-a traditionally important energy sink-scientists weren't sure where it went. It became known, in some circles, as a case of "missing heat."