Average ocean temperatures warmest on record

[DrPizza]

http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/117088.html

<snip>
It?s not just the ocean off the Northeast coast that is super-warm this summer. July was the hottest the world?s oceans have been in almost 130 years of record-keeping.

The average water temperature worldwide was 62.6 degrees, according to the National Climatic Data Center, the branch of the U.S. government that keeps world weather records. June was only slightly cooler, while August could set another record, scientists say.

The previous record was set in July 1998 during a powerful El Nino weather pattern.

Meteorologists said there?s a combination of forces at work: a natural El Nino system just getting started on top of worsening man-made global warming, and a dash of random weather variations. The resulting ocean heat is already harming threatened coral reefs. It also could hasten the melting of Arctic sea ice and help hurricanes strengthen.

The Gulf of Mexico, where warm water fuels hurricanes, has temperatures dancing around 90. Most of the water in the Northern Hemisphere has been considerably warmer than normal. The Mediterranean is about 3 degrees warmer than normal. Higher temperatures rule in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

The heat is most noticeable near the Arctic, where water temperatures are as much as 10 degrees above average. The tongues of warm water could help melt sea ice from below and even cause thawing of ice sheets on Greenland, said Waleed Abdalati, director of the Earth Science and Observation Center at the University of Colorado.

Breaking heat records in water is more ominous as a sign of global warming than breaking temperature marks on land, because water takes longer to heat up and does not cool off as easily as land.

?This warm water we?re seeing doesn?t just disappear next year; it?ll be around for a long time,? said climate scientist Andrew Weaver of the University of Victoria in British Columbia. It takes five times more energy to warm water than land.

The warmer water ?affects weather on the land,? Weaver said. ?This is another yet really important indicator of the change that?s occurring.?
<snip>

More obvious evidence of global warming. I'm not sure how something like this is ignored (except by people with little science background who do not understand simple concepts like thermal mass and specific heat.)

Please, global warming deniers, explain how this isn't evidence of global warming.

 

[Cuda1447]

I won't claim it is or isn't global warming. Instead I'll point to other areas of the debate. Every time someone shows evidence of our temperatures cooling, pro global warmers call the others whack jobs. So how is this any different? Its one study, that shows what you are a proponent of. I don't think it is conclusive evidence for or against. I will say that temperatures are cyclical, so when we look at any one study, we have to take it with a huge grain of salt.

Also, if this is true, we should have some really nasty hurricanes. Luckily, on the western side of the world at least, we haven't had any bad ones.

 

[blackangst1]

You mean the earth's temps have changed over millions of years? OMG

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

More obvious evidence of global warming. I'm not sure how something like this is ignored (except by people with little science background who do not understand simple concepts like thermal mass and specific heat.)

Please, global warming deniers, explain how this isn't evidence of global warming.

I'm not so sure it is the fact that global warming may be occurring; I thought the debate centered more around the causes of this warming. Correct?

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Cuda1447
Also, if this is true, we should have some really nasty hurricanes. Luckily, on the western side of the world at least, we haven't had any bad ones.

Water temperatures are not the only factor that influences hurricane development; it's not a simple cause and effect. This year is already predicted to have slightly fewer than average. I'm informing you of that now, so that later when you claim it's a cause and effect, and since the effect wasn't seen, the cause is wrong, you'll understand why you were wrong.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: blanghorst

Originally posted by: DrPizza

More obvious evidence of global warming. I'm not sure how something like this is ignored (except by people with little science background who do not understand simple concepts like thermal mass and specific heat.)

Please, global warming deniers, explain how this isn't evidence of global warming.

I'm not so sure it is the fact that global warming may be occurring; I thought the debate centered more around the causes of this warming. Correct?

Among the experts in climatology, yes. Among the people in P&N, no. They're convinced we're experiencing global cooling right now.

It's too bad the former administration had the DSCVR satellite mothballed. We'd know for certain the extent of global warming right now, and we'd have more of an idea why. Of course, it would also make it impossible for the deniers to continue denying, thus they needed to cancel that NASA mission.

 

[woodie1]

Does not history show that Earth's temperature has never remained constant.

 

[Patranus]

It?s not just the ocean off the Northeast coast that is super-warm this summer. July was the hottest the world?s oceans have been in almost 130 years of record-keeping.

Remember...The earth is more than 2000 years old (or whatever).....130 years is NOTHING.

No one is claiming that the earths temperature is not changing. What is debatable is WHY.

 

[StageLeft]

Most people do believe it's getting warmer. Beyond that, as you get more and more specific, you will find less consensus, i.e. who's causing it or what can be done or even whether anything should be done.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: woodie1
Does not history show that Earth's temperature has never remained constant.

This is very true. The question is whether or not we should be alarmed at the rate at which the Earth is warming. Have the global temperatures ever fluctuated this rapidly as they have in the past 200 years?

 

[OCGuy]

Arent global temps dropping? We are back to "warming" again?


I cant keep up.

 

[MotF Bane]

Originally posted by: Patranus

It?s not just the ocean off the Northeast coast that is super-warm this summer. July was the hottest the world?s oceans have been in almost 130 years of record-keeping.

Remember...The earth is more than 2000 years old (or whatever).....130 years is NOTHING.

No one is claiming that the earths temperature is not changing. What is debatable is WHY.

 

[KeithP]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
More obvious evidence of global warming.
.

And of course, it is no evidence of man made global warming. In this debate don't we really have to draw that distinction?


-KeithP

 

[Atheus]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: blanghorst

Originally posted by: DrPizza

More obvious evidence of global warming. I'm not sure how something like this is ignored (except by people with little science background who do not understand simple concepts like thermal mass and specific heat.)

Please, global warming deniers, explain how this isn't evidence of global warming.

I'm not so sure it is the fact that global warming may be occurring; I thought the debate centered more around the causes of this warming. Correct?

Among the experts in climatology, yes. Among the people in P&N, no. They're convinced we're experiencing global cooling right now.

It's too bad the former administration had the DSCVR satellite mothballed. We'd know for certain the extent of global warming right now, and we'd have more of an idea why. Of course, it would also make it impossible for the deniers to continue denying, thus they needed to cancel that NASA mission.

You make the common mistake of thinking these people base their opinions on some kind of evidence.

 

[Blackjack200]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: woodie1
Does not history show that Earth's temperature has never remained constant.

This is very true. The question is whether or not we should be alarmed at the rate at which the Earth is warming. Have the global temperatures ever fluctuated this rapidly as they have in the past 200 years?

IIRC, it's not a question of fluxuation, the issue is a general warming trend spanning mulitple decades. That's why even if we did switch to a cooling trend, we wouldn't even know it for 15+ years. Thus the people that talk about global tempertures dropping look a bit silly since that's not what we're discussing.

 

[MikeMike]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: woodie1
Does not history show that Earth's temperature has never remained constant.

This is very true. The question is whether or not we should be alarmed at the rate at which the Earth is warming. Have the global temperatures ever fluctuated this rapidly as they have in the past 200 years?

or were we in a period of global coolness, and are just going back up to the normal temps?

In order to declare Global Warming, or Cooling, we must establish a "normal" range, and i highly doubt that we have records of earths temps for the past 10000 years.

 

[Blackjack200]

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: woodie1
Does not history show that Earth's temperature has never remained constant.

This is very true. The question is whether or not we should be alarmed at the rate at which the Earth is warming. Have the global temperatures ever fluctuated this rapidly as they have in the past 200 years?

or were we in a period of global coolness, and are just going back up to the normal temps?

In order to declare Global Warming, or Cooling, we must establish a "normal" range, and i highly doubt that we have records of earths temps for the past 10000 years.

I know that we have a sense for global temperatures historically, but I don't know how precise our estimates would be.

 

[xj0hnx]

Kind of like a Mayfly declaring that at noon it's the highest recorded tempurature ever so it must be an indication of global warming, and then claiming it is because of mayflies. What a joke.

 

[Blackjack200]

Originally posted by: xj0hnx
Kind of like a Mayfly declaring that at noon it's the highest recorded tempurature ever so it must be an indication of global warming, and then claiming it is because of mayflies. What a joke.

Sort of like that. Except not at all.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Cuda1447
I won't claim it is or isn't global warming. Instead I'll point to other areas of the debate. Every time someone shows evidence of our temperatures cooling, pro global warmers call the others whack jobs. So how is this any different? Its one study, that shows what you are a proponent of. I don't think it is conclusive evidence for or against. I will say that temperatures are cyclical, so when we look at any one study, we have to take it with a huge grain of salt.

Also, if this is true, we should have some really nasty hurricanes. Luckily, on the western side of the world at least, we haven't had any bad ones.

total fail.

 

[Patranus]

Originally posted by: Blackjack200
I know that we have a sense for global temperatures historically, but I don't know how precise our estimates would be.

Like this?
http://blogs.mbs.edu/fishing-i...temperatures-thumb.jpg

I like that medieval warm period. That must have been because of CO2...right?

 

[Atheus]

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: woodie1
Does not history show that Earth's temperature has never remained constant.

This is very true. The question is whether or not we should be alarmed at the rate at which the Earth is warming. Have the global temperatures ever fluctuated this rapidly as they have in the past 200 years?

or were we in a period of global coolness, and are just going back up to the normal temps?

In order to declare Global Warming, or Cooling, we must establish a "normal" range, and i highly doubt that we have records of earths temps for the past 10000 years.

What? Why? Surely the only useful definition would be relative to the temperatures in which we established modern civilization - the last few hundred years. If it turned out that 'normal' was worldwide permafrost, or 60C in the shade, then going back to 'normal' would still destroy our civilization... this would be okay with you?...

 

[Blackjack200]

Originally posted by: Patranus

Originally posted by: Blackjack200
I know that we have a sense for global temperatures historically, but I don't know how precise our estimates would be.

Like this?
http://blogs.mbs.edu/fishing-i...temperatures-thumb.jpg

I like that medieval warm period. That must have been because of CO2...right?

I'm not ignoring this, but I can't click on blog links at work. I'll have to pick this up later.

 

[Atheus]

Originally posted by: xj0hnx
Kind of like a Mayfly declaring that at noon it's the highest recorded tempurature ever so it must be an indication of global warming, and then claiming it is because of mayflies. What a joke.

And to rephrase my previous post - if it gets hot enough to kill all the mayflies, then they're perfectly justified in worrying about it, and trying to do something about it, regardless of whether it's a perfectly normal fluctuation or not...

 

[Patranus]

Originally posted by: Blackjack200
I'm not ignoring this, but I can't click on blog links at work. I'll have to pick this up later.

Notice the .EDU