Oceans are warming so fast that readings are now off the chart
NOAA chart depicting ocean heat content data to a depth of 2,000 metres. Courtesy: NOAA.
Digital Reporter
Friday, January 23, 2015, 5:25 PM - Oceans are warming at an accelerated pace -- forcing scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to re-scale its heat chart to account for the warming that occurred in 2014.
John Abraham , professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Engineering in Minnesota wrote the spike in heat was significant enough to 'break' the tracking chart scientists use.
According to the organization, energy stored in the ocean increased substantially over the past year, skyrocketing right off the chart.
More than 90 percent of the emissions that cause climate change go into the ocean. Two percent winds up in the atmosphere, contributing to rising global temperatures.
Warming oceans are an ongoing area of concern for environmental scientists.
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It contributes to a host of problems by speeding up ice melt in the glaciers while putting sensitive ecosystems at risk.
On Thursday, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved humanity's metaphorical doomsday clock to three minutes to midnight -- largely due to extreme weather events brought about by climate change and warming oceans.
"This is about doomsday; this is about the end of civilization as we know it," bulletin executive director Kennette Benedict told reporters in Washington.
"The probability of global catastrophe is very high, and the actions needed to reduce the risks of disaster must be taken very soon."
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