The effects of climate change are affecting the oceans of Earth. According to Science Advances, glaciers are melting, sea level is rising, and reefs are dying.
The oceans are not subject to extreme weather changes, which can be very unpredictable and rapid. They usually experience only minor fluctuations throughout the week, unlike weather. This is known as “memory”, and it is related to the thickness the ocean’s top-mixed layer. A thicker sea surface layer provides greater cushioning and a stronger memory due to the thermal inertia.
As global warming increases, and ocean temperatures rise, the top layer of support thins. As a thin mattress, the support or in this instance the year-to-2018 “memory” begins to deteriorate.
Hui Shi, the study’s lead author, said that it was almost as if “the ocean is developing amnesia”.
This memory helps scientists predict ocean conditions and will continue to decline.
Fei-Fei Jin (study co-author) is a professor at University of Hawai’i Manoa. He said that this, together with random fluctuations in sea surface temperatures, “suggest intrinsic change in the system and new challenges for prediction under warming.”
These changes will have a profound impact on our lives.
Researchers have used a wide range of Earth system models to project that ocean memory will decline across the globe by the end 21st century, which is just 79 years away. Models suggest that ocean memory will decrease by up to 100 percent in some regions.
Researchers found that the primary cause of the decline is the shoaling caused by climate change. Human activities, which primarily burn fossil fuels, are also the main sources of global warming.
A declining ocean memory can make it harder to predict ocean surface changes and could have a negative impact on how we manage sensitive ecosystems.
For example, fisheries depend on stable marine environments. However, if the ocean’s memories decline, condition estimates may become less reliable. Researchers also believe it could have an impact on marine life populations that have adapted to constant environmental conditions.
Unstable ocean conditions can also affect temperature, precipitation, and extreme weather events all over the globe.
This was even true during the 2019 Northwest Pacific marine heatwave. When the mixed layer depth reached an all-time low due to stronger surface heating and higher winds, this was evident. A U.S. post said so. Climate Variability and Predictability Program, last year, projected climate models show that global warming will continue to drive these conditions.
