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Even the deepest, coldest parts of the ocean are getting warmer
Thermometers moored at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean recorded an average
temperature increase of about 0.02 degrees Celsius over the last decade. That warming may be a
consequence of human-driven climate change, which has boosted ocean temperatures near the
surface, but it’s unclear since so little is known about the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean.
“The deep ocean, below about 2,000 meters, is not very well observed,” says Chris Meinen,
an oceanographer at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The deep sea is
so hard to reach that the temperature at any given research site is typically taken only once per
decade. But Meinen’s team measured temperatures hourly from 2009 to 2019 using seafloor
sensors at four spots in the Argentine Basin, off the coast of Uruguay.
Temperature records for the two deepest spots revealed a clear trend of warming over that
decade. This warming is much weaker than in the upper ocean, Meinen says, but he also notes
that since warm water rises, it would take a lot of heat to generate even this little bit of warming so
deep.
It’s too soon to judge whether human activity or natural variation is the cause, Meinen says.
Continuing to monitor these sites and comparing the records with data from devices in other ocean
basins may help to clarify matters.
(Adapted from: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ocean-warming-deepest-coldest-temperature).
