Oceans more ‘stable’ and that’s bad!

PARIS: Global warming is making the oceans more stable, increasing surface temperatures and reducing the carbon they can absorb, according to research published on Monday by climate scientists who warned that the findings have “profound and troubling” implications.

Man-made climate change has increased surface temperatures across the planet, leading to atmospheric instability and amplifying extreme weather events, such as storms. But in the oceans, higher temperatures have a different effect, slowing the mixing between the warming surface and the cooler, oxygen-rich waters below, researchers said.

This ocean “stratification” means less deep water is rising towards the surface carrying oxygen and nutrients, while the water at the surface absorbs less atmospheric carbon dioxide to bury at depth.

In a report published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the international team of climate scientists said they found that stratification globally had increased by a “substantial” 5.3 percent from 1960 to 2018.