Professor of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences at University of Michigan
Imagine the smokestacks without the billowing clouds of greenhouse gas pollution.
This decades-long lag between cause and effect is due to the long time it takes to heat the the ocean’s huge mass. The energy that is held at the Earth by the increased carbon dioxide does more than heat the air. It melts ice; it heats the ocean. Compared to air, it’s harder to raise the temperature of water – it takes time, decades. However, once the ocean temperature is elevated, it adds to the warming of the Earth’s surface.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwvWH5tn1Tk?wmode=transparent&start=0]
via What would happen to the climate if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases today?.
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