The Ocean, the Planet’s thermostat
The Ocean and Climate Platform was established from an alliance of non-governmental organizations and research institutes, with support from the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission on June 10th 2014 during the World Ocean day.
It is the international Ocean and Climate think tank, gathering over 70 organizations for the purpose of highlighting scientific expertise and supporting ocean and climate issues advocacy before politicians, decision-makers and the general public.
Today the Platform includes scientific organizations, universities, research institutions, non-profit associations, foundations, science centers, public institutions and business organizations, all acting to bring the ocean to the forefront in climate discussions.
An Ocean is a Massive Pump !
The five oceans: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern, all communicate with each other, forming the global ocean. This huge mass of water affects the climate by absorbing solar energy and releasing heat. Indeed, the Ocean has a strong heat capacity. It can heat up and cool down very slowly and is capable of storing around a thousand times more heat than that of the atmosphere. The ocean then restores this heat to the atmosphere over periods that can cover several centuries.
Ocean currents redistribute the absorbed solar energy. Ocean circulation is controlled by surface winds, by the rotation of the earth and by certain physical properties such as temperature and salinity. Warm water masses carry surface heat accumulated in the tropics towards the poles, thus reducing latitudinal temperature differences. The Gulf Stream, for example, has this role. Coldwater currents at great depths follow the opposite direction. This global “conveyor belt” circulation contributes, with constant exchanges to and from the atmosphere, to the redistribution of heat across the planet.
The Ocean, the planet’s thermostat
Ninety three per cent of the excess heat generated by human activities via the greenhouse effect is absorbed by the ocean, thus mitigating the increase in temperature of the atmosphere. This heat absorption causes a slight warming of the ocean. This can be felt down to at least seven hundred meters depth. It has now reached the great depths of the polar regions and is being spread towards all the ocean basins. Given the volume of the ocean, this represents an enormous amount of heat! However, even if greenhouse gas emissions were to be interrupted today, the effects of the increasing ocean temperature would persist for several decades.
The global ocean therefore has a role in the regulation and control of the large natural planetary balances. It regulates climate fluctuations. Indeed, the latter would be much more rapid and more powerful if they were only governed by the atmosphere.
The increase in temperature related to human activities affects all global thermal mechanics, including the ocean, while the ocean and atmosphere continue to interact permanently.
