Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.
Penetration of Human-Induced Warming into the World's Oceans
Tim P. Barnett,1*David W. Pierce,1Krishna M. AchutaRao,2Peter J. Gleckler,2Benjamin D. Santer,2Jonathan M. Gregory,3Warren M. Washington4
A warming signal has penetrated into the world's oceans overthe past 40 years. The signal is complex, with a vertical structurethat varies widely by ocean; it cannot be explained by naturalinternal climate variability or solar and volcanic forcing,but is well simulated by two anthropogenically forced climatemodels. We conclude that it is of human origin, a conclusionrobust to observational sampling and model differences. Changesin advection combine with surface forcing to give the overallwarming pattern. The implications of this study suggest thatsociety needs to seriously consider model predictions of futureclimate change.
1 Climate Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 0224, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. 2 Program for Climate Model Diagnoses and Intercomparison/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Post Office Box 808, Livermore, CA 94550, USA. 3 UK Met Office Hadley Centre and University of Reading, Reading RG6 6BB, UK. 4 National Center for Atmospheric Research, Post Office Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: tbarnett{at}ucsd.edu
Human-Induced Changes in the Hydrology of the Western United States.
T. P. Barnett, D. W. Pierce, H. G. Hidalgo, C. Bonfils, B. D. Santer, T. Das, G. Bala, A. W. Wood, T. Nozawa, A. A. Mirin, et al. (2008)
Science
319, 1080-1083
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Identification of human-induced changes in atmospheric moisture content.
B. D. Santer, C. Mears, F. J. Wentz, K. E. Taylor, P. J. Gleckler, T. M. L. Wigley, T. P. Barnett, J. S. Boyle, W. Bruggemann, N. P. Gillett, et al. (2007)
PNAS
104, 15248-15253
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Simulated and observed variability in ocean temperature and heat content.
K. M. AchutaRao, M. Ishii, B. D. Santer, P. J. Gleckler, K. E. Taylor, T. P. Barnett, D. W. Pierce, R. J. Stouffer, and T. M. L. Wigley (2007)
PNAS
104, 10768-10773
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Opposing forces of aerosol cooling and El Nino drive coral bleaching on Caribbean reefs.
J. A. Gill, A. R. Watkinson, J. P. McWilliams, and I. M. Cote (2006)
PNAS
103, 18870-18873
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Sea levels: change and variability during warm intervals.
R. Edwards (2006)
Progress in Physical Geography
30, 785-796
|PDF »
Forced and unforced ocean temperature changes in Atlantic and Pacific tropical cyclogenesis regions.
B. D. Santer, T. M. L. Wigley, P. J. Gleckler, C. Bonfils, M. F. Wehner, K. AchutaRao, T. P. Barnett, J. S. Boyle, W. Bruggemann, M. Fiorino, et al. (2006)
PNAS
103, 13905-13910
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Extreme heat reduces and shifts United States premium wine production in the 21st century.
M. A. White, N. S. Diffenbaugh, G. V. Jones, J. S. Pal, and F. Giorgi (2006)
PNAS
103, 11217-11222
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Scaling the metabolic balance of the oceans.
A. Lopez-Urrutia, E. San Martin, R. P. Harris, and X. Irigoien (2006)
PNAS
103, 8739-8744
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Planktonic Foraminifera of the California Current Reflect 20th-Century Warming.
D. B. Field, T. R. Baumgartner, C. D. Charles, V. Ferreira-Bartrina, and M. D. Ohman (2006)
Science
311, 63-66
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
