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From 27 June to 1 July, the United Nations (UN) will be hosting their Ocean Conference in Portugal. The conference will seek to mobilise action around science-based innovative solutions aimed at starting a new chapter of global ocean action. In our spotlight theme this issue, we therefore take a look at why focusing on oceans is important and some of the current science in this area.
In 2021 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published their Working Group 1 (WGI) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). Chapter 9 focused on ‘oceans, cryosphere and sea level change’,
Dr Helene Hewitt OBE of the Met Office was a co-ordinating lead author on the chapter and said: “This report demonstrates that oceans are continuing to warm, ice is melting and sea level is rising. Many of these changes will not stop immediately if we reduce emissions but they can be slowed down and crucially we will limit the risk of rapid ice loss from Antarctica which otherwise could lead to additional metres of sea level rise over the coming centuries”.
Change in ocean temperatures are an important factor in understanding how our climate is changing and the impacts of that. 90% of the excess energy trapped in the earth system by human-induced greenhouse gas emissions goes into the oceans. Unlike surface temperature, which can change a lot from one year to the next because of El Niño and La Niña, ocean heat content rises more steadily.
As the oceans warm, the water in the oceans expands raising sea level. We can calculate how much sea level should rise based on how much the oceans have warmed. The calculated sea-level change can be combined with other sources of sea level rise (like melting glaciers and storage of water on land) and compared to actual measurements of sea-level change.
Our climate dashboard includes information on ocean heat content and sea levels.
On 7June the Environment Agency (EA) published their Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy Roadmap to 2026 which sets out how we can be better prepared for the unavoidable impacts of climate change by ensuring England is resilient and ready to respond and adapt to flooding and coastal change. Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the EA, said: “Climate change is happening now, and its impacts will continue to worsen. Rainfall patterns are changing, causing more frequent flooding, and while we continue to protect and prepare coastal communities from rising sea levels, it is inevitable that at some point some of our communities will have to move back from the coast.”
Professor Richard Betts, Met Office Fellow, commented in an article in the Independent that, “The Environment Agency is recognising that the coast is inevitably going to be impacted by sea level rise. Even if the Environment Agency could afford to build coast protection everywhere – which they cannot – the things that many people cherish about the coast, like beaches and sand dunes, will eventually become submerged, unless we start to plan now for how the coastline can adjust to rising sea levels.”
 A recent report from the British Antarctic Survey highlighted that February of this year saw sea ice extent reach a record low. In our latest WeatherSnap podcast on 10 June we spoke to the author of the report, Professor John Turner, about his findings.
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