Oceans

Just as warm air rises, so does warm water. But warm water is already at the top of the ocean (usually). This inhibits water's vertical mixing. But saltier water, being denser, sinks. This promotes vertical mixing. So can winds. The balance among them is an empirical matter.
From 1961 to 1993, the atmosphere warmed ~50 times as fast as the ocean. From 1993 to 2004, it warmed only 25 times as fast. (See the bar graph, 2nd below. Oceans weigh more than 250 times as much as the atmosphere. Moreover, water has ~4 x the heat capacity of air, gram for gram.) So oceans hold 1,000 times as much heat as air.

Warming in the air at the land surface is terribly sensitive to what % of Earth's net heat absorbed goes into the ocean.

Below and also on Overviews page, 1961-2003 is in blue, 1993-2003 in magenta. More than half the 42-year change was in the then-most recent 10 years.

Ocean heat content at the sea surface is especially high, compared to "normal", in the tropical Atlantic.

2023-2025 Articles

Cause of Unprecedented North Atlantic Heat to Start Europe’s Hot 2023 Summer 0625.rtfWhat Marine Heat Wave off Florida Means for Temperatures, Storms and Coral 0525.rtfPlastic May Be Warming the Planet More than We Thought 0525.rtfClimate Change Has Tripled the Length of Deadly Ocean Heat Waves 0425.rtfSurge in Marine Heat Waves Costs Lives and Billions in Storm Damage 0225.rtfOceans Are Warming Faster and Faster as the Earth Traps More Energy 0125.rtfTide Going Out on Good News for Oceans 0125.rtfThe Caribbean Has Been Unusually Warm. That’s Not Good. 0125.rtfWarning From a California Marine Heat Wave 1224.rtf - Remember the death toll from The Blob in the northeast Pacific in 2014?Click for more

Hotter Water Makes Hurricane Milton So Ferocious 1024.rtfHurricane Milton’s Perilous Track Driven by Hot Gulf Water 1024.rtfRecord Cooling Rate in Big Atlantic Ocean Patch by Equator Baffles Scientists 0824.rtfOceans Face ‘Triple Threat’ of Extreme Heat, Oxygen Loss and Acidification 0624.rtfHistoric Ocean Heat Wave Heralds Dangerous Hurricane Season 0524.rtfThe Mother of All Climate Feedbacks? – Ocean Heating 0524.rtfMore Frequent Ocean Heat Waves Trigger Mass Die-Offs of Sea Life 0524.rtfOcean Heat Has Shattered Records for More Than a Year. What’s Happening? 0424.rtfScientists Fear Planetary Shift, as Record Ocean Heat Enters 2nd Year 0324.rtfWinter Heat Waves Are Now a Thing. How to Make Sense of Them. 0324.rtfRecord Ocean Temperatures Should Really Scare You 0224.rtfThe Push to Identify Ocean Heat Waves Before They Happen 0923.rtf‘Astounding’ Ocean Temperatures in 2023 Intensified Extreme Weather 0124.rtfThe Mediterranean Sea Was Also Bizarrely Warm This Summer 1023.rtfWhy Our Oceans Being the Warmest in Recorded History Is So Concerning 0823.rtfGlobal Ocean Temperatures Soared to a Record High This Week 0823.rtfWhere Ocean Temperatures Are off the Charts 0723.rtfMiami’s Atlantic Ocean Surface Temperatures Hit 90°, Fueling Weather Disasters 0723.rtfDeep-Sea Researchers Probe Mystery of Record Ocean Heat 0723.rtfFlorida Ocean Records ‘Unprecedented’ Temperatures, Similar to a Hot Tub 0723.rtfRecord Hot Oceans Are Driving Weather Disasters around the World 0723.rtfHow Hot Is the Sea Off Florida Right Now? Think 90s Fahrenheit. 0723.rtf - 98°F just off the southwest coast of the Everglades, per July 15 reportOcean Heat around Florida is Unprecedented. Coral Bleaching Abounds. 0723.rtfFlorida Ocean Temperatures at ‘Downright Shocking’ Levels 0723.rtfThe Oceans Are Unusually Hot and on Track to Get Hotter. That's Not Good. 0723.rtfRecord Temperatures in Warming Oceans Causes Chaotic Weather Patterns 0723.rtf‘Beyond Extreme’ North Atlantic Heat Wave Is Worst on Record, since 1850 - 0623.rtfAs North Atlantic Sizzles, the Pacific Is Now Heating up Too, Thanks to El Niño 0623.rtf‘Unheard of’ Marine Heat Wave off UK and Irish Coasts Poses Serious Threat 0623.rtfThe World’s Oceans Shattered Heat Records in April and May 0623.rtfNorth Atlantic Temperature Anomaly Sparks Concern among Climate Scientists 0623.rtfEarth Keeps Breaking Records for Warming Waters 0423.rtfRecent, Rapid Ocean Warming Ahead of El Niño Alarms Scientists 0423.rtfMarine Heat Waves Can Happen Even at the Bottom of the Ocean 0323.rtfEarth’s Oceans Are Showing Early and Surprising Record Warming 0323.rtfMarine Heat Waves Are Sweeping the Seafloor around North America 0323.rtfArctic Climate Modeling Too Conservative, Says New Research 0323.rtfGulf of Maine Has 2nd-Hottest Year, after 2021, Getting to ‘Edge of Habitability’ 0223.rtfOceans Were the Hottest Ever Recorded in 2022 - 0123.rtf

Why Our Oceans Being the Warmest in Recorded History Is So Concerning 0823.rtf

Marine life struggles with heat, its resulting oxygen loss, and acidification. Coral is especially hard hit. The heat also, via the warming-melting effects on Greenland and Antarctic ice, slows down Atlantic Ocean circulation, especially the AMOC and Gulf Stream. They may collapse around mid-century ± 30 years, slowly and possibly as soon as 2025. The warming also melts sea ice, a major feedback that further accelerates global warming.