The World's Ocean
If sea surface temperatures warm because less sunshine is reflected or more outgoing radiation is trapped in the lower atmosphere, Earth's energy budget will be altered.
Additionally, the ocean is a major carbon sink that absorbs much of the carbon dioxide that humans put into the atmosphere each year. Scientists know that the CO2 content of the oceans has increased steadily since the start of the industrial era.
Increasing CO2 is changing the chemistry of the ocean. Along with acidification, the capacity of the world's oceans to dissolve and store C02 is diminishing.
The Greenhouse Effect
The amount of solar energy absorbed or emitted by Earth is modulated by the atmosphere and depends on its composition. The selective nature of radiative absorption by atmospheric gases is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. Most of the shortwave radiation from the sun passes through the atmosphere to warm the surface of Earth. While the atmosphere is nearly transparent to shortwave energy, it efficiently absorbs terrestrial longwave radiation emitted upward by the surface. So, while carbon dioxide and water vapor make up only a very small percentage of the atmospheric gases, they are extremely important because they trap outgoing longwave radiation and warm the atmosphere.
Interactions and Feedbacks
The interconnectedness of Earth's systems means that a significant change in any one component of the climate system can influence the equilibrium of the entire Earth system.
Increasing the amount of a greenhouse gas, warming the oceans, or changing any part of the global energy budget will cause the system to be out of balance. And in fact, research indicates that small increases in carbon dioxide concentrations in the ocean and atmosphere are having a large effect on the climate system.
