Observations from several satellites launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) and other organizations have been gathered to produce the most detailed heat map of the Mediterranean.
With a resolution of two square kilometers for an area of about 3 million square kilometers, an equivalent ground-based map would have needed almost 1.5 million thermometers put into the water. This ESA news release adds that sea surface temperature (SST) is an important variable for weather forecasting and for checking the rate of global warming.
In fact, as water takes longer than air to warm up or cool down, the top layer of our oceans is basically acting as a reservoir of heat. Did you know that "the top two meters of ocean alone store all the equivalent energy contained in the atmosphere?" I didn't, so read more to discover great pictures and other selected excerpts and references.
With a resolution of two square kilometers for an area of about 3 million square kilometers, an equivalent ground-based map would have needed almost 1.5 million thermometers put into the water. This ESA news release adds that sea surface temperature (SST) is an important variable for weather forecasting and for checking the rate of global warming.
In fact, as water takes longer than air to warm up or cool down, the top layer of our oceans is basically acting as a reservoir of heat. Did you know that "the top two meters of ocean alone store all the equivalent energy contained in the atmosphere?" I didn't, so read more to discover great pictures and other selected excerpts and references.
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 5:27 AM | Comments (0)
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