The most reliable source of information for changes in the global mean net air — sea heat flux comes from the constraints provided by analyses
of changes in ocean heat storage.
This lack of agreement is due to the fact that their models ignore major forcings — both from variations of solar activity and
from changes in ocean circulation.
The broad finding, which has surprised some researchers, suggests that sea life is already being affected
by changes in the ocean's chemistry caused by rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
But it is becoming increasingly clear that
future changes in the ocean currents will help determine the future survival of the ice sheets.
If large
scale changes in the ocean ecology occur because of acidification the model can not reasonably be expected to capture the effects.
The exchange of water between the land, ocean and atmosphere is an essential factor
driving changes in ocean mass and relative sea level, both of which are important indicators of climate change.
Short - term variability is sufficient to account
for changes in ocean heat without resort to an accumulating energy imbalance from greenhouse gases.
So was there a climate shift after the turn of the century
involving changes in ocean and atmospheric circulation involving cloud changes?
This is due to the
slow changes in ocean currents which affect climate parameters such as air temperature and precipitation.
I find only that
upward changes in ocean temperatures are followed about 6 - 12 months later by upward changes in CO2.
The researchers found sea lion numbers very sensitive to environmental changes,
especially changes in ocean temperatures that affect their prey.
Given the current dramatic rate of
change in the ocean nitrogen cycle the researchers are not sure how long it will take for marine ecosystems to adapt.
These are not professionally done maps and users are strongly encouraged to be aware that conditions
regularly change in the ocean — in other words, do not bet your life on these maps.
It appears more than likely that climate change is controlled by variations in solar magnetic activity and by
periodic changes in ocean circulation.
Changes in ocean chemistry can have extensive direct and indirect effects on marine organisms and the ecosystems in which they live.
At any rate it seems fairly clear that these changes are associated
with changes in ocean and atmosphere circulation.