NOAA released its State of the Climate 2013 last week. Among the findings related to the ocean (and, by extension, the rest of us on land): * Heat content in the upper 2,300 feet of the ocean continued its upward trend in 2013. * Large-scale patterns of sea surface salinity in 2013 mirrored the overall trend seen from 2004 to 2013: salty, dry areas are becoming increasingly salty, and fresher areas are becoming increasingly fresh. * The globally averaged sea surface temperature in 2013 was among the 10 highest on record, with the North Pacific reaching an historic high temperature. * In 2013, global average sea level was 1.5 inches (38 mm) above the 1993-2010 average, which is the highest yearly average in the satellite record (1993-present). * At the end of winter in March 2013, ice extent was 5.8 million square miles (15.0 million square kilometers), about 3 percent below the long-term (1981-2010) average. Nearly 80 percent of the ice pack at winter maximum was first-year ice: ice that just formed over the winter.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 16:45:02 +0000
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