LONDON, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The world oceans temperature rose in 2017 to the highest point ever recorded, surpassing the previous record in 2015, according to a recent research published on Sunday by The Independent newspaper.
Researchers recently made measurements of the world oceans temperature 2 km from the sea level, and found a distinct increase, witnessing a record high in global oceans temperature in 2017, John Abraham, a professor of thermal sciences at the University of St. Thomas, told the newspaper.
Besides the sea water temperature, previous studies have showed that 2017 also experienced the highest atmospheric temperature ever without EL Nino, a natural phase of the climate system that results in warmer temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.
"The long-term warming trend caused by human activities will continue unabated," researchers were quoted as saying by the newspaper, "More than 90 percent of the Earth's excess heat related to global warming is absorbed by the oceans, a significant indicator of global warming."
Professor Abraham echoed these comments and said the research result can't prove that the temperature rise is caused by humans activities, but the decades-long rising tendency does prove the existence of global warming.
Although the increase in oceans heat in 2017 occurred in many regions around the world, but the specific changes in each area are different. For instance, the temperature in the Atlantic and other oceans in the southern hemisphere rose higher than that in the Pacific and Indian oceans.
Such a rise in temperature would cause ice melting, increase the sea level, lower ocean oxygen, and bleach coral reefs.
