Past decade saw unprecedented warming in the deep ocean

Abstract

Since 1975 the global surface ocean has shown a pronounced—though wavering—warming trend. Starting in 2004, however, that warming seemed to stall. Researchers measuring the Earth's total energy budget—the balance of sunlight streaming in compared to the amount of light and heat leaving from the top of the atmosphere—saw that the planet was still holding on to more heat than it was letting out. However, with that energy not warming the surface ocean—a traditionally important energy sink—scientists were not sure where it went. It became known, in some circles, as a case of “missing heat.”