Chilling news: the world's oceans store heat, fresh water, salt, and carbon dioxide, and circulate them around the globe. They transport about as much heat as the atmosphere does, and that makes them a powerful influence on the world's climate.(Climate)

Publication: Canada and the World Backgrounder

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COPYRIGHT 2005 Canada & the World

El Nino is a prime example of how oceans affect climate: this mass of warm water that builds in the western Pacific Ocean contains 20 to 30 times more water than all the Great Lakes put together. It also has vast amounts of energy: according to one calculation it contains more energy than a million large power plants, at 1,000 megawatts each, running full tilt for a year.

While scientists don't know exactly what triggers the phenomenon, we're all well aware of its effect. Every three to seven years, an El Nino event occurs. It may last for many months, disrupting the flow of the trade winds in the tropical Pacific and wreaking havoc on the climate worldwide. During the last 40 years, ten of these major events have been recorded, the worst of which occurred in 1997-1998. This one caused drought in Southern Africa, Southern India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, Southern Peru, Western Bolivia, Mexico, and Central America. At the same time, it brought heavy rain and flooding to Bolivia, Ecuador, Northern Peru, Cuba, and the U.S. Gulf States, as well as typhoons in Tahiti, and Hawaii.

And, it appears that El Nino is brewing up again. In August 2004, U.S. scientists reported that water over vast stretches of the tropical part of the Pacific Ocean was warming to levels that in the past have preceded El Nino events.

One of the largest potential threats to all marine and coastal resources is global warming. Global climate change will warm average ocean temperatures, alter marine circulation patterns, and affect marine biological productivity.

Scientists recently concluded that global warming over the last four decades has altered the salt...

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