For quite some time scientists have known that the oceans, our planet's largest bodies of water, have a direct influence on our climate and weather patterns. A new study published in the journal Science brings us closer to understanding the role our oceans play and how they have influenced our climate. Scientists hope this knowledge will help them learn how the oceans can help us cool down the planet and neutralize global warming.
The oceans make up 71 percent of our planet's surface and are responsible for 97 percent of our planet's water supply. Scientists have discovered the natural cooling season of the Pacific Ocean has actually slowed and even halted global warming in recent years.
For years experts were baffled as to why temperatures didn't continue to rise and actually declined between the 1980s and 90s while during that same period greenhouse gas emissions rose to record levels.
Michael Mann, a climatologist from Pennsylvania State University, says, "We know that it is important to distinguish between human-caused and natural climate variability so we can assess the impact of human-caused climate change". Mann said that Pacific seemed to be the main cause of the pause.
To understand the oceans' role in keeping our globe cool, Mann and his associates used a combination of real-world information and a highly advanced climate model. Researchers verified temperatures of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans dating back to 1850 to determine if there were any natural fluctuations in winds and currents that lasted for several decades.
According to the scientists, their observations have led them to hypothesize that the current trends in ocean temperature and currents have "produce a slowdown or 'false pause' in warming in the last 10 years."
The researchers concluded that the northern part of the Pacific Ocean's cooler periods and the atypical slowdown in warming conditions have a direct connection to the heat being restricted beneath the tropical Pacific and its susceptibility for long periods of La Niña type situations.
Scientists believe that understanding the downturn is critical in predicting upcoming warming conditions and to come to a common understanding in reducing emissions.
While the oceans are currently our best defense against warming due to the increase of CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, the big question that remains is how long can the oceans sustain their role in slowing climate change if we don't take steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
