Earth System Science Data (Apr 2023)
Heat stored in the Earth system 1960–2020: where does the energy go?
- K. von Schuckmann,
- A. Minière,
- F. Gues,
- F. Gues,
- F. J. Cuesta-Valero,
- F. J. Cuesta-Valero,
- G. Kirchengast,
- G. Kirchengast,
- S. Adusumilli,
- F. Straneo,
- M. Ablain,
- R. P. Allan,
- P. M. Barker,
- H. Beltrami,
- A. Blazquez,
- T. Boyer,
- L. Cheng,
- L. Cheng,
- J. Church,
- D. Desbruyeres,
- H. Dolman,
- C. M. Domingues,
- A. García-García,
- A. García-García,
- D. Giglio,
- J. E. Gilson,
- M. Gorfer,
- L. Haimberger,
- M. Z. Hakuba,
- S. Hendricks,
- S. Hosoda,
- G. C. Johnson,
- R. Killick,
- B. King,
- N. Kolodziejczyk,
- A. Korosov,
- G. Krinner,
- M. Kuusela,
- F. W. Landerer,
- M. Langer,
- M. Langer,
- T. Lavergne,
- I. Lawrence,
- Y. Li,
- J. Lyman,
- F. Marti,
- B. Marzeion,
- M. Mayer,
- M. Mayer,
- A. H. MacDougall,
- T. McDougall,
- D. P. Monselesan,
- J. Nitzbon,
- J. Nitzbon,
- I. Otosaka,
- J. Peng,
- J. Peng,
- S. Purkey,
- S. Purkey,
- D. Roemmich,
- D. Roemmich,
- K. Sato,
- K. Sato,
- A. Savita,
- A. Schweiger,
- A. Shepherd,
- S. I. Seneviratne,
- L. Simons,
- D. A. Slater,
- T. Slater,
- A. K. Steiner,
- T. Suga,
- T. Suga,
- T. Szekely,
- W. Thiery,
- M.-L. Timmermans,
- I. Vanderkelen,
- I. Vanderkelen,
- I. Vanderkelen,
- I. Vanderkelen,
- S. E. Wjiffels,
- S. E. Wjiffels,
- T. Wu,
- M. Zemp
Affiliations
- K. von Schuckmann
- Mercator Ocean International, Toulouse, France
- A. Minière
- Mercator Ocean International, Toulouse, France
- F. Gues
- Mercator Ocean International, Toulouse, France
- F. Gues
- CELAD, Toulouse, France
- F. J. Cuesta-Valero
- Department of Remote Sensing, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
- F. J. Cuesta-Valero
- Remote Sensing Centre for Earth System Research, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- G. Kirchengast
- Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- G. Kirchengast
- Institute of Physics, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- S. Adusumilli
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
- F. Straneo
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
- M. Ablain
- Magellium, Ramonville-Saint-Agne, France
- R. P. Allan
- Department of Meteorology and National Centre for Earth Observation, University of Reading, Reading, UK
- P. M. Barker
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- H. Beltrami
- Climate and Atmospheric Sciences Institute and Department of Earth Sciences, St Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, B2G 2W5, Canada
- A. Blazquez
- Laboratory of Space Geophysical and Oceanographic Studies (LEGOS), Université de Toulouse, CNES, CNRS, IRD, UPS, Toulouse, France
- T. Boyer
- NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
- L. Cheng
- Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- L. Cheng
- Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China
- J. Church
- Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- D. Desbruyeres
- Univ Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), IUEM, 29280, Plouzané, France
- H. Dolman
- Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, Texel, the Netherlands
- C. M. Domingues
- National Oceanographic Centre, Southampton, UK
- A. García-García
- Department of Remote Sensing, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
- A. García-García
- Remote Sensing Centre for Earth System Research, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- D. Giglio
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
- J. E. Gilson
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
- M. Gorfer
- Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- L. Haimberger
- Department of Meteorology and Geophysics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- M. Z. Hakuba
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
- S. Hendricks
- Section Sea Ice Physics, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
- S. Hosoda
- Research Institute for Global Change (RIGC), Global Ocean Observation Research Center (GOORC), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokosuka, Japan
- G. C. Johnson
- NOAA, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, Washington, USA
- R. Killick
- Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, UK
- B. King
- Marine Physics and Ocean Climate, National Oceanographic Centre, Southampton, UK
- N. Kolodziejczyk
- Univ Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), IUEM, 29280, Plouzané, France
- A. Korosov
- Sea Ice Modelling Group, Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Bergen, Norway
- G. Krinner
- Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement, CNRS, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
- M. Kuusela
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- F. W. Landerer
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
- M. Langer
- Permafrost Research Section, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Potsdam, Germany
- M. Langer
- Department of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- T. Lavergne
- Research and Development Department, Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Oslo, Norway
- I. Lawrence
- European Space Agency, ESRIN, Via Galileo Galilei 1, 00044 Frascati, RM, Italy
- Y. Li
- School of Earth Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- J. Lyman
- NOAA, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, Washington, USA
- F. Marti
- Magellium, Ramonville-Saint-Agne, France
- B. Marzeion
- Institute of Geography and MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
- M. Mayer
- Department of Meteorology and Geophysics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- M. Mayer
- Research Department, Earth System Predictability Section, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Reading, UK
- A. H. MacDougall
- Climate and Environment Program, St Francis Xavier University Antigonish, Nova Scotia, B2G 2W5, Canada
- T. McDougall
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- D. P. Monselesan
- Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
- J. Nitzbon
- Permafrost Research Section, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Potsdam, Germany
- J. Nitzbon
- Paleoclimate Dynamics Section, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
- I. Otosaka
- Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling, University of Leeds, UK
- J. Peng
- Department of Remote Sensing, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
- J. Peng
- Remote Sensing Centre for Earth System Research, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- S. Purkey
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
- S. Purkey
- Recall Faculty, Climate, Atmospheric Sciences, and Physical Oceanography, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
- D. Roemmich
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
- D. Roemmich
- Recall Faculty, Climate, Atmospheric Sciences, and Physical Oceanography, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
- K. Sato
- Research Institute for Global Change (RIGC), Global Ocean Observation Research Center (GOORC), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokosuka, Japan
- K. Sato
- Atmosphere and Ocean Department, Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), Minato-ku, Japan
- A. Savita
- Maritime Meteorology, Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
- A. Schweiger
- Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
- A. Shepherd
- Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling, Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- S. I. Seneviratne
- Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zürich, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland
- L. Simons
- The Club of Rome, The Netherlands Association, 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands
- D. A. Slater
- School of Geosciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- T. Slater
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
- A. K. Steiner
- Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- T. Suga
- Research Institute for Global Change (RIGC), Global Ocean Observation Research Center (GOORC), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokosuka, Japan
- T. Suga
- Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Department of Geophysics, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
- T. Szekely
- Ocean Scope, Brest, France
- W. Thiery
- Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, 1050, Belgium
- M.-L. Timmermans
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- I. Vanderkelen
- Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, 1050, Belgium
- I. Vanderkelen
- Wyss Academy for Nature, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- I. Vanderkelen
- Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- I. Vanderkelen
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- S. E. Wjiffels
- Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
- S. E. Wjiffels
- Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA
- T. Wu
- Cryosphere Research Station on Qinghai–Xizang Plateau, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (NIEER), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou, 730000, China
- M. Zemp
- Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1675-2023
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 15
pp. 1675 – 1709
Abstract
The Earth climate system is out of energy balance, and heat has accumulated continuously over the past decades, warming the ocean, the land, the cryosphere, and the atmosphere. According to the Sixth Assessment Report by Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, this planetary warming over multiple decades is human-driven and results in unprecedented and committed changes to the Earth system, with adverse impacts for ecosystems and human systems. The Earth heat inventory provides a measure of the Earth energy imbalance (EEI) and allows for quantifying how much heat has accumulated in the Earth system, as well as where the heat is stored. Here we show that the Earth system has continued to accumulate heat, with 381±61 ZJ accumulated from 1971 to 2020. This is equivalent to a heating rate (i.e., the EEI) of 0.48±0.1 W m−2. The majority, about 89 %, of this heat is stored in the ocean, followed by about 6 % on land, 1 % in the atmosphere, and about 4 % available for melting the cryosphere. Over the most recent period (2006–2020), the EEI amounts to 0.76±0.2 W m−2. The Earth energy imbalance is the most fundamental global climate indicator that the scientific community and the public can use as the measure of how well the world is doing in the task of bringing anthropogenic climate change under control. Moreover, this indicator is highly complementary to other established ones like global mean surface temperature as it represents a robust measure of the rate of climate change and its future commitment. We call for an implementation of the Earth energy imbalance into the Paris Agreement's Global Stocktake based on best available science. The Earth heat inventory in this study, updated from von Schuckmann et al. (2020), is underpinned by worldwide multidisciplinary collaboration and demonstrates the critical importance of concerted international efforts for climate change monitoring and community-based recommendations and we also call for urgently needed actions for enabling continuity, archiving, rescuing, and calibrating efforts to assure improved and long-term monitoring capacity of the global climate observing system. The data for the Earth heat inventory are publicly available, and more details are provided in Table 4.