Change in global ocean heat content between the surface and 2000 meters of depth from 1958 to 2017 (top) and distribution
of ocean heat content anomalies in 2017 (bottom).
A recently published estimate of Earth's global warming trend is 0.63 ± 0.28 W / m2, as calculated from
ocean heat content anomaly data spanning 1993 - 2008.
Time series of annual average global integrals of
upper ocean heat content anomaly (1021 J, or ZJ) for (a) 0 — 100 m, (b) 0 — 300 m, (c) 0 — 700 m, and (d) 0 — 1800 m. Thin vertical lines denote when the coverage (Fig. 3) reaches 50 % for (a) 0 — 100 m, (b) 100 — 300 m, (c) 300 — 700 m, and (d) 900 — 1800 m. From Lyman & Johnson (2013)
Time series of annual average global integrals of
upper ocean heat content anomaly (1021 J, or ZJ) for (a) 0 — 100 m, (b) 0 — 300 m, (c) 0 — 700 m, and (d) 0 — 1800 m. Time series are shown using ZIF estimates relative to both ClimArgo (dashed grey lines) and Clim1950 (dashed black lines).
«Although the different estimates of OHCA (
ocean heat content anomaly) produce seemingly different estimates of interannual ocean heating rate variability, these differences are all within the range of observational uncertainty.
Over the last month or so warm sea - surface temperature [SST] and upper -
ocean heat content anomalies have increased in the near - equatorial central Pacific, while the SST cool tongue in the near - equatorial far - eastern Pacific has weakened, with warm anomalies now evident there.