Bleached massive coral ( Porites solida ) in Vilanguchalli island in Thoothukudi coast of Gulf of Mannar.
As the climate continues to warm and the mixed layer continues to thin, scientists might lose the ability to predict annual ocean surface temperatures. The mixed layer of the ocean which blankets the top 20 to 200 metres is becoming thinner each year, says a new study which warns that the continued loss of this buffer may lead to more frequent and destructive warming events such as marine heat waves. Researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder in the U.S. said the thickness of this top layer of the ocean is responsible for marine heat events.
Marine heat waves may become more intense, frequent: Scientists
According to the study, published in the journal Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, the scientists found that this armour is thinning, causing the oceans to become more susceptible to rapid swings in temperature.
Houston: The mixed layer of the ocean which blankets the top 20 to 200 metres is becoming thinner each year, says a new study which warns that the continued loss of this buffer may lead to more frequent and destructive warming events such as marine heat waves.
Researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder in the US said the thickness of this top layer of the ocean is responsible for marine heat events. The thicker this mixed layer, they said the more it can act as a buffer to shield the waters below from incoming hot air.
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Houston, January 29
The mixed layer of the ocean which blankets the top 20 to 200 metres is becoming thinner each year, says a new study which warns that the continued loss of this buffer may lead to more frequent and destructive warming events such as marine heat waves.
Researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder in the US said the thickness of this top layer of the ocean is responsible for marine heat events.
The thicker this mixed layer, they said the more it can act as a buffer to shield the waters below from incoming hot air.
According to the study, published in the journal Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, the scientists found that this armour is thinning, causing the oceans to become more susceptible to rapid swings in temperature.
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The thinner this mixed layer becomes, the easier the ocean gets warmer. The new work could explain recent extreme marine heatwaves and point at a future of more frequent and destructive ocean warming events as global temperatures continue to climb. Marine heatwaves will be more intense and happen more often in the future, said Dillon Amaya, a CIRES Visiting Fellow and lead author on the study out this week in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society s Explaining Extreme Events. And we now understand the mechanics of why. When the mixed layer is thin, it takes less heat to warm the ocean more.
Credit: NOAA
When thick, the surface layer of the ocean acts as a buffer to extreme marine heating but a new study from the University of Colorado Boulder shows this mixed layer is becoming shallower each year. The thinner it becomes, the easier it is to warm. The new work could explain recent extreme marine heatwaves, and point at a future of more frequent and destructive ocean warming events as global temperatures continue to climb. Marine heatwaves will be more intense and happen more often in the future, said Dillon Amaya, a CIRES Visiting Fellow and lead author on the study out this week in the