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Paul Huttner and Cody Nelson

Study: Ocean warming suggests faster climate change timetable

Pacific Ocean
Visitors look out onto the Pacific ocean as a storm sets in at Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, Calif.
Marcio Jose Sanchez | AP file

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Editor's note (Nov. 14, 2018): Since this segment aired and this web story were published, scientists behind the study covered here have realized significant miscalculations in their work. They have submitted corrections to the journal that published their study. The scientists have also explained what happened. MPR News has removed the inaccurate audio and has revised the copy below to eliminate errors.

The planet appears to be warming faster than scientists realized, and it's happening beneath the oceans' surface.

Oceans take the brunt of earth's warming, but new research suggests they retain between 10 and 70 percent of heat, according to the Los Angeles Times.

A recent report by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, captured international attention for its grave warning: curtail warming now or face widespread deadly conditions for people and ecosystems as soon as 2030.

PWashington Post science reporter Chris Mooney described the ocean as a "thermal repository," taking in heat and keeping it. And it might be a bigger deal than scientists realized.

"More of the total heat that's getting trapped by climate change is sticking around in the earth's system. Maybe not where we thought," he said. "Maybe in some cases buried deep in the ocean but it's there and it's gonna have an impact. And we might still be waiting for part of the impact."

For more climate news and insights, check out Climate Cast from MPR News.