Warming in Deep Southern Ocean Linked to Sea-Level Rise Warming
waters in the deepest parts of the ocean surrounding Antarctica
have contributed to sea-level rise over the past two decades,
scientists report today (Sept. 20). In an attempt to pinpoint
all culprits for the rising oceans, scientists analzyed warming
trends in the abyssal ocean — below about 3,300 feet (1,000
meters), said study team member and oceanographer Sarah Purkey
of the University of Washington in Seattle. The scientists found
that the strongest deep warming occurred in the water around
Antarctica, and the warming lessens as it spreads around the
globe. The temperature increases are small — about 0.05 degrees
Fahrenheit (0.03 degrees Celsius) per decade in the deep
Southern Ocean, and less elsewhere. But the large volume of the
ocean over which they are found and the high capacity of water
to absorb heat means that this warming accounts for a huge
amount of energy storage. If this deep ocean heating were going
into the atmosphere instead