The upper 300 m of the world's oceans act as a giant heat sink and have absorbed the majority of the excess energy generated by anthropogenic greenhouse gases. But the magnitude of the oceanic heat uptake is uncertain, and differing estimates have led to questions regarding the closure of the global energy budget. Here, a comparison of ocean heat content estimates is presented; the conclusion is that a robust warming of 0.64 W m−2 occurred from 1993 to 2008.
- John M. Lyman
- Simon A. Good
- Josh K. Willis