New ocean heat record equivalent to 100 times the world’s electricity generation in 2021 and enough energy to boil 700 million 1.5L kettles per second.

The ongoing trend of record-high ocean temperatures, combined with shifts in water stratification and salinity patterns, provide insight into the future impacts of a rapidly warming climate. Oceanic observations from a team of 24 scientists from 16 institutes worldwide indicate that there is cause for concern about the overall health of our oceans and the planet as a whole.

These observations have prompted scientists to act quickly in forecasting future aspects of climate change, so as to better equip the public to face the challenges of an increasingly extreme climate in the years to come.

Recent data has revealed that a new high for ocean heat content (OHC) between 0-2000 meters was recorded in 2022, surpassing the previous record set in 2021 by approximately 10 Zetta joules. A Zetta joule is a unit of energy equivalent to one sextillion joules (with 21 zeros following it), commonly used to measure heat or work.

Today, the journal Advances in Atmospheric Science published the findings of a study that drew on data from two international datasets. The study was conducted by scientists from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and analyzed observations of ocean heat content and its impacts dating back to the 1950s.

“Both IAP and NCEI data show a consistent message that upper 2000m ocean heat content hits a record high value in 2022,” remarks NCEI/NOAA senior researcher Tim Boyer.

The 10 Zetta joules of heat added to the ocean in 2022 is roughly equivalent to 100 times the total electricity generated worldwide in 2021 (28,466 TWh), 325 times China’s 2021 electricity production (8,537 TWh), and 634 times the United States’ 2021 electricity production (4,381 TWh). This amount of energy is also enough to boil 700 million 1.5 liter kettles every second for an entire year.

“Global warming continues and is manifested in record ocean heat, and also in continued extremes of salinity. The latter highlight that salty areas get saltier, and fresh areas get fresher and so there is a continuing increase in the intensity of the hydrological cycle” explains lead author Lijing Cheng.

It is simple to see that the significant effects of so much heat entering the seas would occur considerably sooner than one may anticipate.

Heat, carbon, and oxygen exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere above it may shift when the seas become more salinized and stratified as a result.

An increase in ocean heat can lead to a phenomenon known as ocean deoxygenation or a loss of oxygen in the water. This can have detrimental effects not only on marine life and ecosystems but also on human populations and terrestrial ecosystems.

A decrease in oceanic diversity and loss of key species can have a significant impact on fishing-dependent communities and their economies, potentially causing a domino effect on how people interact with their environment.

The effects of the fast-rising water are already being felt in certain areas, and they are not always what was anticipated.

“Some places are experiencing more droughts,” points out Kevin Trenberth, one of the authors of the paper, “which lead to an increased risk of wildfires, and other places are experiencing massive floods from heavy rainfall, often supported by increased evaporation from warm oceans.”

“This contributes to changes in the hydrologic cycle and emphasizes the interactive role that oceans play.”

A rise in water temperature and salinity directly causes water to separate into layers instead of mixing, which upsets the delicate balance between the oceans and the air.

“In the future, the group will focus on understanding the changes on the earth’s major cycles and improve the future projections of earth’s heat, water and carbon changes. This is the basis for human[s] to prepare for future changes and risks” adds professor John Abraham, the second author of this study.

If scientists keep tabs on these shifts, they’ll have a better understanding of what can be done in advance to brace for the warmer temperatures, severe weather, and other effects of the rising seas and altered hydrologic cycle.

According to author Michael Mann, “the oceans are absorbing most of the heating from human carbon emissions.

“Until we reach net zero emissions, that heating will continue, and we’ll continue to break ocean heat content records, as we did this year. Better awareness and understanding of the oceans are a basis for the actions to combat climate change.”

Source: 10.1007/s00376-023-2385-2 

Image Credit: NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP via Getty Images