Has Global Oceanic Warming Been Detected Through Sea Level Rise?

[zankaon]

Based upon the retreat of glaciers worldwide, and opening of the Arctic ocean, and Greenland's hastened dissolution, global atmospheric warming would seem to be with us. But has there been any global oceanic warming? None yet definitively detectable by thermal expansion of the oceans (i.e. proxy of sea surface rise). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_level_rise"

NATURE'S PAST EXPERIMENT

An experiment of nature on the effect of intense global warming has already occurred in the Eocene 38-55 million yrs. ago; the so-called Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM).(1) There were no massive extinctions comparative to that of Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) period defining Mezozoic/Cenazocic eras at 65Myrs. At the Paleocene-Eocene divide, paleo-stratigraphic results show that there was deep water benthic foraminifera mass extinction associated with the increased temperature and hence dysoxic (less oxygenated) waters.(1) But most marine and terrestrial extinctions occurred with cooling at the end of the Eocene, and into the Oligocene epoch.(1) The consequences of the present warming are unknown in regards to extinctions. However nature already has conducted one experiment in regards to intense global warming, with seemingly not overwhelming catastrophic results.

1. Hallam Tony, Catastrophes and Lesser Calamities Oxford Univ Press, 2004, and references therein.

Other sources consulted.

2. Raup David M., Extinction: Bad Genes or bad Luck?, W.W. Norton, 1991, and references therein.
3. Stanley Steven M., Extinction, Scientific American Books, 1987, and references therein.

 

[billiards]

Thermal expansion of the oceans has been observed, and is a significant contributor to global sea level rise. The link that you providehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_level_rise

says this:

It is very likely that 20th century warming has contributed significantly to the observed sea-level rise, through thermal expansion of sea water and widespread loss of land ice

 

[ravenprp]

4. Stanley Steven M., Children of the Ice Age, W.H. Freeman, 1996, and references therein.

Thank you for sharing this information. It is certainly interesting to consider the past experiments of nature in regards to global warming. However, it is important to note that the current rate of global warming is significantly faster than any natural warming event in the past. The PETM, for example, occurred over the course of thousands of years, while the current warming is happening over the course of just a few decades. This rapid rate of warming may have different and more severe consequences than past warming events. Additionally, the current warming is being driven primarily by human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, which may have different effects than natural warming events. While it is important to consider past events, it is also crucial to address and mitigate the current global warming crisis in order to prevent potential catastrophic consequences for both the environment and human societies.