GESAMP on Global Warming

Hard to stop

Global warming, predicted by the scientific community over the last decade, will both be heavily influenced by the oceans, and have profound effects upon them. The seas' massive ability to store heat will do much to govern the rate at which the Earth warms up, and will make the process, once started, extremely hard to stop. Meanwhile the climate change is expected to alter the pattern of currents, with far-reaching effects both on sea and land, to disrupt fisheries, change ecosystems and cause the seas to rise, inundating low-lying islands and coastal areas.