Climate Conversation Group

4 Responses to “Ocean heat content”

1. THREAD says:

   October 22, 2010 at 3:42 pm

   OHC & Earth’s Energy Budget

   Reply
   • THREAD says:

     October 22, 2010 at 3:49 pm

     Roger Pielke’s 2003 paper on heat storage in the oceans:

     http://pielkeclimatesci.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/r-247.pdf

     HEAT STORAGE WITHIN THE EARTH SYSTEM
     ROGER A. PIELKE SR.
     2003 American Meteorological Society

     Note the following about the statement on page 334:

     “An assessment of the heat storage within the earth’s climate system offers a unique perspective on global change. If the heat actually remains within the earth system in the deeper ocean, for example, while the heat content of the remainder of the heat reservoirs in the earth system remains unchanged, sudden transfers of the heat between components of the system (from the ocean into the atmosphere) could produce rapid, unanticipated changes in global weather. “

     Prof. Pielke:

     Since I wrote that statement, I have become convinced that since deep ocean heating is diffused through relatively large volumes of the ocean (as indicated in the NOAA study), it cannot suddenly reappear in the atmosphere. Indeed, we can now monitor with the Argo network in order to assess if there are large amounts of heat (in Joules) migrating towards the surface of the ocean.

     Reply
   • THREAD says:

     October 22, 2010 at 3:57 pm

     A paper showing negative heat flux from oceans since 2003, hence no radiative imbalance:

     http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~douglass/papers/KD_InPress_final.pdf

     Recent energy balance of Earth
     R. S. Knox and D. H. Douglass
     Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0171 USA

     This is a very important result, taken in context with the paper above. It means there has been no positive radiative imbalance FTOA since 2003. The Earth is in steady state. This implies Trenberth and therefore Hansen are incorrect in their adherence to a 0.85 W/m2 radiative imbalance at TOA.

     Reply
   • Bob D says:

     January 30, 2011 at 12:47 pm

     Paper showing ocean cooling:
     http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/2010JPO4410.1?journalCode=phoc

     Vélez-Belchí, Pedro, Alonso Hernández-Guerra, Eugenio Fraile-Nuez, Verónica Benítez-Barrios, 2010: Changes in Temperature and Salinity Tendencies of the Upper Subtropical North Atlantic Ocean at 24.5°N. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 40, 2546–2555.
     doi: 10.1175/2010JPO4410.1

     Abstract:
     Strong interest in multidecadal changes in ocean temperature and heat transport has resulted in the occupation of the North Atlantic Ocean hydrographic transect along 24.5°N five times since 1957, more than any other transoceanic section in the world. This latitude is chosen because it is where the northward ocean transport of heat in the Atlantic reaches its maximum. An analysis of the five oceanographic cruises at this latitude shows that there has been a significant cooling of −0.15°C in the upper ocean (600–1800-dbar range) over the last 7 years, from 1998 to 2004, which is in contrast to the warming of 0.27°C observed from 1957 to 1998. Salinity shows a similar change in tendency, with freshening since 1998. For the upper ocean at 24.5°N, 1998 was the warmest and saltiest year since 1957. Data from the Argo network are used to corroborate the strong cooling and freshening since 1998, showing a −0.13°C cooling in the period between 1998 and 2006 and revealing interannual variability between 2005 and 2008 to be much smaller than the decadal variability estimated using the transect. The results also demonstrate that Argo is an invaluable tool for observing the oscillations in the tendencies of the ocean.

     Reply