Oceans Are Absorbing Almost All of the Globe’s Excess Heat

Ellie Parson           9/22/16

Current Event #3

Citation for Article:

Wallace, Tim. "Oceans Are Absorbing Almost All of the Globe’s Excess Heat." The New York Times. The New York Times, 11 Sept. 2016. Web. 22 Sept. 2016

Link:http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/09/12/science/earth/ocean-warming-climate-change.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fearth&action=click&contentCollection=earth&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=sectionfront

The article Oceans Are Absorbing Almost All of the Globe’s Excess Heat by Tim Wallace discusses the roles Earth’s oceans plays in absorbing and controlling the temperature of the planet. In 2016, global temperatures reached a record high during the seasons of winter, spring, and summer.  Although to scientists and meteorologists, the increase in heat is no surprise. Over three decades Earth’s surface temperature has supposedly been on a permanent acceleration to extreme heat. The ocean covers more than 75 percent of the planet, which inevitably causes the large bodies of water to be the victim of unusual temperatures. Without the ocean, the effects of climate change on the Earth would be depressingly worse, as Wallace states “Since 1995, more than 90 percent of the excess heat retained by the Earth as a result of greenhouse gases has been absorbed by the ocean”(Wallace, 3). Because of this, Eric Leuliette from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration feels as if 90 percent of the ongoing and present history of climate change has been ignored and underrated. Climate change is occurring as a result to many different factors, some being natural, like El Nino, and others because of the population’s abuse of fossil fuels. No matter the reason, the impact on the oceans is great in comparison to land. Wallace describes Earth’s oceans as “heat sponges” that shelter people who live on their planet. Unfortunately, as protective and useful they are, the more heat the Earth sustains, the less efficient oceans are at maintaining their temperatures. Large bodies of water expand as they store heat, causing one third of the rise scientists have seen in sea level. The other two thirds are the response the arctic and antarctic circles had to warmer water temperatures, their ice caps melting in large amounts. Not only does the ocean expand when it is heated, but it also enables for more dangerous and destructive weather patterns. Weather patterns, unlike mass climate change, cannot be controlled. Marine life faces as many issues as the ocean does. Species of bleached coral thriving on the Great Barrier Reef are jeopardized, as well as other animals and birds. Fishing industries have to relocate to colder locations in order to catch the same groups of fish they used to, creating an economic calamity. This generation of scientists, politicians, and world leaders have shown or acknowledged the ocean’s suffering in some form, but actually taking the time to act upon the responsibility of lowering the temperatures is difficult. Creating new sources of energy in large quantities at such high demand seems nearly impossible. However, Gregory Johnson, an oceanographer of the NOAA, claims that the rate of energy gained by the earth’s surface from heat “between 1971 and 2010 was roughly equal to the power required to run 140 billion 1,500 watt hair dryers over the same number of years.” Rising heat does have a largely negative impact on the Earth and the life on it, but if scientists find a way to recycle the extreme heat humans cause to the planet, there may be a way to reverse the damage.

Society will suffer greatly from the rising levels and dying marine life across the world. Cities and towns located on beaches are in danger as sea levels rise, and extreme flooding has already occurred after hurricanes Earl, Sandy, and Katrina. Hurricanes and Typhoons cannot be controlled unless prepared for greatly in advance, therefore a responsibility is placed upon societies worldwide to reduce their usage of fossil fuels and other harmful greenhouse gasses. El Nino, a natural rise in heat over bodies of water and land, is the acception to climate change, as it can never be changed. However, warm temperatures before and after El Nino only enable it to be stronger. No matter if the country is landlocked or exposed to the ocean, the impact climate change has on the population is evident. Political figures are expected to talk about their views on global warming, and scientists struggle to convince a small percentage of the population that global warming exists. The world as a whole is confused by how to react to climate change on land, and has absolutely no idea how to save the oceans that are still partially unexplored.

This article did an amazing job at portraying the effects of global warming on Earth’s oceans. Wallace grabbed my attention by supporting his claims with detailed and descriptive data. He wrote the article smoothly, making sure his ideas were easy to understand and was even persuasive. The one technique that stood out to me was that he highlighted the most important data in his article. However, he lacked in descriptive detail and personal reflection on the data he acquired. It is great that the article did not seem to be written in a biased tone, but I would have connected more if he had related his opinions more directly to his findings. The words he used to describe the data was bland and his vocabulary was average in comparison to other writers. If he had related the information to himself or took a more dramatic approach to the topic, the importance of rising heat temperatures in oceans would have been more personified and emotional.