Research & Development World

  • Home Page
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Archeology
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Chemistry
    • COVID-19
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Market Pulse
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
      • Software
    • Semiconductors
  • 2021 R&D 100 Award Winners
    • R&D 100 Awards
    • 2020 Winners
    • Winner Archive
  • Resources
    • Digital Issues
    • Podcasts
    • Subscribe
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Webinars

Ocean temperatures of the past many tell us about future global climate patterns

By R&D Editors | November 19, 2015

undefined

click to enlarge
Map of modern surface ocean temperatures and paleodata sites with data going back to 5 million years and used in this study. The new record comes from site 1125 in the South Pacific. Arrows indicate the surface temperature gradients explored by the researchers.  

  

Scientists are taking the temperature of ancient seas to discover how they’ve shaped global climate.

In a study published in Nature Geoscience, a Yale Univ.-led research team explored differences in ocean temperatures over the last 5 million years. The team created a historical record for sea temperature gradients and compared it with state-of-the-art climate model simulations.

Sea temperature gradients (contrasts) in the tropics and subtropics are the engines of Earth’s climate. They control global atmospheric circulations, as well as the transport of water vapor for the planet.

As part of the study, the researchers investigated climate evolution since the early Pliocene epoch, 4 to 5 million years ago. They looked at the development of gradients along the equator and mid-latitude regions to the north and south.

The early Pliocene was the last time atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations were as high as today’s levels, yet ocean temperatures during the Pliocene—from the subtropics to the Artic—were much warmer than today. The tropical Pacific, for example, had conditions resembling a modern El Niño that persisted for thousands of years.

“The puzzle is how to explain this warmth during the Pliocene,” said lead author Alexey Fedorov, a professor of geology and geophysics at Yale. “Ocean temperature contrasts are a major part of this puzzle.”

As part of their work, the researchers developed a temperature record for the mid-latitude South Pacific, where there had been no long-term temperature record. The new data shows that water temperatures during the Pliocene were about 5 C warmer than today.

“It has been argued that temperature contrasts were weaker during the Pliocene, implying a weaker atmospheric circulation,” Fedorov said. “In our study, we confirm the reduced contrasts and show a tight link between ocean east-west (equatorial) and north-south (equator to mid-latitudes) temperature variations.”

Source: Yale Univ.

Related Articles Read More >

Argonne webinar to explore the challenges of recycling lithium-ion batteries and solutions
U.S. DOE grants $25M to advance clean hydrogen technologies for electricity generation 
Advanced Ionics secures $4.2M for decarbonization of industrial hydrogen production
MilliporeSigma’s ZooMAb antibodies earns first-ever ACT Label from My Green Lab
2021 R&D Global Funding Forecast

Need R&D World news in a minute?

We Deliver!
R&D World Enewsletters get you caught up on all the mission critical news you need in research and development. Sign up today.
Enews Signup

R&D World Digital Issues

February 2020 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R& magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • 2021 Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • Home Page
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Archeology
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Chemistry
    • COVID-19
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Market Pulse
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
      • Software
    • Semiconductors
  • 2021 R&D 100 Award Winners
    • R&D 100 Awards
    • 2020 Winners
    • Winner Archive
  • Resources
    • Digital Issues
    • Podcasts
    • Subscribe
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Webinars