The Alarming Discovery of Heatwaves at the Bottom of the Ocean.
Scientists at NOAA have found evidence of marine heatwaves at the bottom of the ocean, which last longer, can cause more drastic heating, and sometimes occur with little or no evidence of warming at the surface. The world’s oceans are responsible for absorbing about 90 percent of the excess heat generated by man-made carbon emissions, and as such, it’s warming faster than the planet average, increasing in temperature by about 1.5°C (2.7°F) over the past century – with marine heatwaves becoming around 50 percent more frequent in the last decade alone. Increased temperatures at the bottom of the ocean have been linked to a whole host of ecological problems, and with these new data collection methods, the researchers hope to develop real-time monitoring capabilities that can alert marine resource managers to deep ocean conditions.