Just try to imagine the amount of heat it would take to raise the ocean's

temperature just 1 degree. And essentially, that heat or energy remains in

the water, and is the power that fuels the weather events for a very long time.

Scientists are finding that a slight rise in their temperature can have a

previously underestimated huge impact on the climate and the weather.(1)

When you hear the term 'global warming' you should think 'oceans warming'

rather than 'atmospheric temperature warming'. And don't think about the

effects being revealed from climate change at this point in time because

they really are nothing compared to what they will be in the future.

A very important thing to understand is that if the entire planet stopped emitting

greenhouse gases today, the effects of what we have already placed in the

atmosphere will increase for over a century due to the greenhouse gas

phenomenon ......meaning the potential for much more warming is already in the

works and will continue to increase the temperature of the oceans no matter

what we do. And, since mankind is not even close to slowing the increase

of CO2 (let alone lowering the numbers), the climate is at a point of crisis.

The oceans absorb the sun's radiation, hold it, and distribute the heat to the

air that is constantly flowing over the seas and creating weather events.

The 'warmth' of global warming is not even felt by us until the hottest days of

summer. This year was dramatic with over 3,000 high temp. records broken

in the US alone.(2) That was probably the only time most people gave global

warming a thought.

But the Oceans Do More

The oceans have been our savior for thousands of years by absorbing CO2 and

sequestering it out of harms way.

But recently, researchers are finding that the oceans have had their fill. The

research, not computer modeling, shows that they are now no longer absorbing

as much and are even beginning to release the carbon that they have stored,

because they are warming and becoming more acidic.(3)

And, immense amounts of methane are being stored in the form of frozen clathrates

that have the potential to raise the global temperature to disastrous levels. If they

warm to the point that they begin to release the clathrates that they hold at the sea

floor, that will be a catastrophic tipping point for all life on Earth.

Although scientists do not know how much ocean temperatures must rise

to bring that horrific situation about, having the oceans turn from a carbon sink

into greenhouse gas emitters is a very worrying sign. The predictions were that

this would not happen until the next century or beyond, until very recently.

Also, in the early '90s, an oceanographer named Dr. Wallace Broecker theorized

that the oceans were the only force on Earth that could bring about the 'abrupt

climate changes' that other scientists had been finding evidence of for decades

in lake sediments and miles long ice cores. He was given the National Medal of

Science in 1996 after years of skepticism about his theory.(4)

The ocean currents - the thermohaline circulation - takes heat from the

equatorial regions to the north and south, distributing heat around the globe.

When this system is slowed, it brings about an abrupt change into ice age

conditions which disrupt the growing season very quickly and has caused

horrendous famines that could kill billions today.

The waters out there that we rarely see and actually know less about than the

surface of Mars, are the most powerful force on Earth regarding the climate

and the weather. The term global warming was morphed into 'climate change',

but that does not bring to mind the vastness of the problem we face. 'Oceans

warming' seems to put it into a somewhat clearer picture.

Again, don't think of the air warming, or your back yard warming. The oceans

are in control of the climate and the weather in several ways, and with enormous

magnitude. And if you also remember the 'century-long lag time' from the ghg

emissions to long term effects on the ocean, you may be able to see why the

scientists are very worried about what they are seeing in just the past decade.

I realize that I sound like an 'alarmist' on this issue, but I don't mind, because

that is exactly what is being found by the scientific community in the past several

years. It is very alarming how fast it is accelerating. A fuse has been lit that

reaches into the next century and it cannot be extinguished. All that can be done

is to limit the size of what it ignites.

[This was written for my brother who has never studied Earth Sciences and who

has not been paying attention to reports of climate scientists. Perhaps you know

someone else that should read this.]

Don Beck

*******

1) 'Remarkable' Drop in Arctic Sea Ice Raises Questions, 9/25/07

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/arctic_minimum.html

2) 1,000 High Temperature Records Broken in September, 10/18/07

http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2007/10/262233.shtml

3) Ocean 'less effective at absorbing climate change gases', 5/18/07

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_article_id=455735&in_page_id=1965

4) Dr. Wallace S. Broecker

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_S._Broecker