Our Ocean World: Habitable Climates
When
Where
Dr. Joellen Russell
Professor, Distinguished Professor
Department of Geosciences
University of Arizona
Our Ocean World: Habitable Climates
Water molecules are found in planetary systems forming around other stars, but we have not yet found a world, other than our own, with liquid water on its surface. Our habitable climate is set by our liquid ocean – and we are observing the terraforming of our planet in real time. Over 90% of the energy associated with global warming is absorbed by the ocean, and it is the ocean that will determine the pace and extent of the transient climate response to human forcing. Here at UA, we measure the heat and carbon in the ocean directly, in near real time, with a global array of robot floats and satellites, improving simulations and predictions of our weather, climate and the earth system.