Experts are concerned about the temperature of the Pacific Ocean. This week, a record temperature of 21.1 degrees was measured on the surface. Sea water has never been this hot since satellite measurements began. That heat could have important consequences, says Erik van Sebille, an oceanographer and climate scientist at Utrecht University, among others.
“Warming the ocean is definitely not good for all animals and organisms in the ocean,” he says. “They are not used to this heat at all. They need to move and move, and this has an impact on ecosystems.
Heating water is also not good for humans, according to him. “A warmer ocean is harder to absorb CO2.” The ocean absorbs almost a quarter of all the CO2 we emit, he explains. If water absorbs less, more CO2 remains in the atmosphere. “And that means more climate change will happen again, including on land.”
Warmer seawater has all kinds of effects, according to Marjolijn Christianen, a marine ecologist at Wageningen University. “It’s about the weather, but also about the marine life. For example, the effects on marine mammals and birds are very diverse. The best-known example is coral.”
ecosystem is unstable
According to him, ecosystems may take a hit, but underwater heatwaves are accelerating. “So ecosystems don’t have time to recover before the new heatwave arrives.”
“Mobile species like fish are moving from the tropics to colder regions. This puts them in conflict with dormant species or other species that are already there. This affects local fisheries established for local fish species. And the balance of the ecosystem is disturbed.”
“Such a change is not necessarily bad,” Christianen says. “But then it has to go slow enough for mutual relations to improve.” She says change doesn’t necessarily have to be negative, but she describes the rate at which it’s occurring right now as “alarming.”
“The Ocean is a Sad Thing”
Earlier this week, data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) showed that the previous record of 21 degrees set in 2016 had been broken. Over the past three years, warming has been mitigated by the natural phenomenon La Niña, according to climate scientists. Then the oceans are colder than its counterpart, El Niño.
The Guardian says scientists now say the warm sea surface could be a harbinger of El Niño. “The final ‘triple bottom’ La Niña is ready,” one of the NOAA scientists told the British newspaper.
Van Sebille sees it too. “The ocean has been relatively cold for several years. This is due to the fact that ocean currents have a lot of cold water coming from the deep sea, especially at the equator, due to the trade winds blowing there. The winds are increasing so it’s getting much warmer at the equator and the whole ocean is a bit hectic right now.
rain changes
Climate scientist Van Sebille says warmer ocean will be a problem this year. “What we’re going to see is, for example, a big drought in Australia, especially in December and January, and we’re going to see Brazil get really wet. Really big rain changes around the world. Next year the weather will really change all over the world, maybe here, outside of Europe.”
In general, a warmer ocean leads to more rain because a warmer ocean evaporates more water, he explains. Also, a warmer ocean expands and becomes more voluminous. And the ocean can only go one way and that’s it. So a warmer ocean directly leads to sea level rise.”
Source: NOS

Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.