{"id":300420,"date":"2025-08-04T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T11:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=300420"},"modified":"2025-08-02T12:19:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T11:19:20","slug":"massive-ocean-regime-shift-alarming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2025\/08\/massive-ocean-regime-shift-alarming\/","title":{"rendered":"Massive Ocean Regime Shift, Alarming"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

This figure shows changes in heat content of the top 700 meters of the world\u2019s oceans between 1955 and 2023 (US EPA).<\/p><\/div>\n

2 Aug 2025\u00a0<\/em>–\u00a0A new study published in ScienceDaily claims severe ocean overheating may be causing a fundamental climate shift. Ocean heatwaves over the past couple of years have been massive and extensive and intensive on a scale never seen before at times covering 96% of the world\u2019s oceans, which should be impossible. (The Oceans are Overheating \u2013 and Scientists Say a Climate Tipping Point May be Here<\/em>, ScienceDaily d\/d July 26, 2025)<\/p>\n

Starting in 2022-23, massive ocean heatwaves persisted for more than 500 days covering nearly the entire globe. This shocking event, never witnessed before, puts the entire global warming scenario on a new level that\u2019s predictably negative. The message is as clear as a bell: World leadership should focus on the removal of fossil fuel emissions as soon as possible. Global warming, especially in the ocean, is on a rapid upswing and not waiting around, as such, fully 2\/3rds of the planet is suffering a very dangerous heat stroke that\u2019s separate and apart from extreme heatwaves on land.<\/p>\n

After all, Earth is basically a liquid planet, according to NASA: \u201cCovering more than 70% of Earth\u2019s surface, our global ocean has a very high heat capacity. It has absorbed 90% of the warming that has occurred in recent decades due to increasing greenhouse gases, and the top few meters of the ocean store as much heat as Earth\u2019s entire atmosphere.\u201d (Ocean Warming\/ Vital Signs, NASA)<\/em><\/p>\n

Scientists fear system-wide climate change may be in the works, threatening ocean marine ecosystems such as corals, fisheries, and aquaculture, as well as goosing up terrestrial temperatures way too fast and too soon across the planet. \u00a0Marine heatwaves this decade have lasted four times (4x) longer than the historical record. Hot oceans accelerate climate change. As water temperatures rise, oceans lose their ability to absorb excessive heat and land temperatures rise accordingly.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccording to the study\u2019s researchers, the 2023 MHWs may mark a fundamental shift in ocean-atmosphere dynamics, potentially serving as an early warning of an approaching tipping point in Earth\u2019s climate system,\u201d Ibid.<\/em><\/p>\n

Given the duration of the heatwave, which began in earnest in 2023 and continues today in some regions, Zhenzhong Zeng, PhD, co-author of the study, Earth systems scientist of the China Southern University of Science and Technology, believes it is the start of a \u201cnew normal for the world\u2019s oceans.\u201d Emerging data indicates the heat in the oceans is accumulating exponentially, a trend that defies climate model predictions. It\u2019ll accelerate heat on land, leading to more severe and widespread droughts, heatwaves, wildfires and storms, which are already seriously severe in today\u2019s world.<\/p>\n

Zhenzhong Zeng claims to be \u201cvery scared\u201d by the potential regime shift in the oceans: \u201cI think almost all of the Earth system model projections are wrong\u2026 Record marine heatwaves may signal a permanent shift in the oceans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some impacts of the shift are starting to appear: \u201cWhen ocean temperatures rise dramatically, they trigger a cascade of effects that lead to mass fish deaths. The primary mechanism involves oxygen depletion, as warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen while simultaneously increasing fish\u2019s metabolic rates and oxygen requirements. This double impact can lead to widespread suffocation. Additionally, fish are ectothermic (cold-blooded), making them particularly vulnerable to temperature changes.\u201d (Marine Heatwaves Trigger Mass Fish Deaths in Australian Waters, Aussie Animals, 2025)<\/em><\/p>\n

Devastating results hit western Australia early in 2025. Temperatures 5\u00b0C above normal killed tens of thousands of fish. Scientists agree this represents a broader global challenge as research shows climate change has multiplied the event of marine heat zones by 20 times. Now, it\u2019s coming home to roost as the world\u2019s oceans turn away from decades of absorbing excessive global heat.<\/p>\n

Ocean Payback<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>According to theWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the ocean won\u2019t hold its heat forever. Eventually, it\u2019ll feed back into the climate system, causing acceleration of global warming beyond all expectations, as \u201cit\u2019s too late\u201d becomes reality.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just oceans that are overheating: \u201cWater temperatures have surged above 85 degrees in the Mediterranean Sea, where records have been broken every day for weeks.\u201d (The Mediterranean Sea is Experiencing a Record-Smashing Heat Wave<\/em>, The Washington Post, July 4, 2025)<\/em> Scientists have expressed concern over the potential for sizeable losses of marine life.<\/p>\n

Ocean Heat Impact \u2013 Antarctica & Greenland<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>The Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets represent the largest land store of freshwater, which, should they completely melt and flow into the ocean, would add a total of 7.5 and 58 m to global-mean sea level, respectively. Recent observations have shown the ice sheets melting at an accelerating rate. Now, ocean heat has become a bigger-than-expected threat to the stability of the major ice sheets much, much earlier than science expected.<\/p>\n

The Greenland ice sheet is particularly vulnerable, as warm ocean currents undercut fjords and erode outlet glaciers, undercutting and destabilizing calving.<\/p>\n

The leading cause of ice mass loss for the West Antarctica Ice Sheet is ocean heat. Only recently, under the auspices of the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership, 450 polar scientists held an emergency meeting to alert the world to clear evidence of the ice sheet instability. They strongly suggest the immediate halt to fossil fuels.<\/p>\n

Statement of the Polar scientists\u2019 group: \u201cThe services of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica \u2013 oceanic carbon sink and planetary air-conditioner \u2013 have been taken for granted. Global warming-induced shifts observed in the region are immense. Recent research has shown record-low sea ice, extreme heatwaves exceeding 40\u00b0C [104\u00b0F] above average temperatures, and increased instability around key ice shelves. Shifting ecosystems on land and at sea underscore this sensitive region\u2019s rapid and unprecedented transformations. Runaway ice loss causing rapid and catastrophic sea-level rise is possible within our lifetimes. Whether such irreversible tipping points have already passed is unknown.\u201d (\u201cEmergency\u201d Warning for Antarctica Issued by Nearly 500 Polar Scientists<\/em>, IFLScience, Nov. 22, 2024)<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, climate change is not about to go away. Rather, it is gaining momentum by the year as CO2 emissions from fossil fuels skyrocket into the atmosphere, as of June 2025 at 430 ppm, a new record high for atmospheric concentration. Moreover, the annual rate of CO2 increase in 2024 (also setting a new record) was 3.50 ppm, more than double the annual rate in 2000 at 1.24 ppm, when atmospheric CO2 concentration was at 37o ppm.<\/p>\n

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in 2015 an international group of scientists determined that anything above 350 ppm atmospheric CO2 would be beyond the \u201csafe zone.\u201d Nobody has suggested the scientists have changed their minds. But that issue is now upstaged by the world\u2019s property\/casualty insurance industry as it screams, hollers, complains, rejects, doubles rates, drops coverage all because of climate change. Property insurers have brought to the fore in full public view a climate change monster that\u2019s destroying the American dream of home ownership.<\/p>\n

Based upon referenced sources herein, fossil fuel emissions must be stopped as soon as possible to hopefully mitigate a whacky climate system that is already threatening the very foundations of the current socio\/economic system, unwittingly suggesting maybe \u2018it should also go\u2019 the way of fossil fuels.<\/p>\n

As if out of the blue, within only a couple of years, climate change has become capitalism\u2019s biggest nightmare.<\/a> \u00a0Maybe they should scramble to do whatever is scientifically necessary to try to mitigate whatever can be mitigated. Too bad CO2 capture and sequester is a decidedly weak, and inconsequential solution. \u201cIt\u2019s a fraud!\u201d (Al Gore)<\/p>\n

_______________________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> Robert Hunziker, MA Economic History DePaul University, member Pi Gamma Mu International Academic Honor Society in Social Sciences, freelance writer and environmental journalist, has over 200 articles published, including several translated into foreign languages, appearing in over 50 journals, magazines, and sites worldwide. He has been interviewed on numerous FM radio programs, as well as television.<\/em><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 pressenza.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2 Aug 2025\u00a0–\u00a0A new study published in ScienceDaily claims severe ocean overheating may be causing a fundamental climate shift. Starting in 2022-23, massive ocean heatwaves persisted for more than 500 days covering nearly the entire globe. This shocking event, never witnessed before, puts the entire global warming scenario on a new level that\u2019s predictably negative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":169338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[686,2604,401,993,3156,896],"class_list":["post-300420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","tag-climate-change","tag-co2","tag-environment","tag-global-warming","tag-heatwave","tag-oceans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300420"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":300423,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300420\/revisions\/300423"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}