{"id":4101,"date":"2025-01-16T05:59:58","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T05:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepoetryofscience.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=4101"},"modified":"2025-01-16T05:59:58","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T05:59:58","slug":"burning-seas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/thepoetryofscience\/4101\/burning-seas\/","title":{"rendered":"Burning Seas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Under tide-skins
\nstretched thin,
\na slow heat hums \u2013
\nits salt-fingers
\npressing against
\nwhat once held firm.
\nThe ocean,
\na story unwinding,
\ncarrying iron-whispers
\nfrom ancient cores,
\nits weight drawn skyward
\nby fires unseen.
\nEdge after edge,
\nstone-cloaks dissolve,
\ntheir silence stitched
\ninto depths where
\nfragile lanterns gather
\nand fade.
\nIn the water’s grasp,
\nthe air remains \u2013
\na question left
\nunanswered.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Sunset in Antalya (Image Credit: Erencet CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This poem is inspired by recent research<\/a>, which has found that sea surface temperatures and deeper water temperatures reached a new record high in 2024.<\/p>\n

Rising ocean temperatures are a significant indicator of the planet\u2019s ongoing warming, driven by increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. In 2024, global sea surface temperatures and the heat stored in the upper layers of the ocean reached unprecedented levels, building on a concerning trend observed in recent years. The warming of the oceans has far-reaching implications \u2013 from intensifying extreme weather events to disrupting marine ecosystems and threatening communities that depend on them.<\/p>\n

This study examines the record-breaking ocean temperatures of 2024, revealing that the heat content in the upper 2,000 metres of the oceans increased significantly compared to 2023. Key regions, including the Indian Ocean, North Atlantic, and Southern Ocean, experienced their highest heat levels ever recorded. The research found that global sea surface temperatures also remained at record highs for much of the year, averaging 0.61\u00b0C above the 1981\u20132010 baseline. These findings are vital as they underscore the unrelenting trend of global heating, highlighting the urgency of addressing the root causes of climate change to mitigate its widespread and interconnected impacts.<\/p>\n