A Potentially Overlooked Contributor to Ocean Warming and Global Weather

Joe Bastardi, a noted meteorologist, has a theory as to why some parts of the Pacific Ocean show unusual and rapid warming.  He thinks it might be related to ocean floor geothermal vents.  I don’t know if this is possible or not.  There does appear to be some correlation with seismic activity and ocean temperatures in some areas.  The Argo float system, which covers the world’s oceans with probes that routinely descend to 4000 meters and rise back up sampling temperature along the way, would be a method to ascertain if there seems to be increasing warmth around the areas with vents.  Mr. Bastardi’s post on this is here.  (JB Post)

I asked Roy Spencer to comment on this idea and he doesn’t think the Argo floats support the idea.  I will look into it more.  Like many things on earth, seismic events, which lead to greater volcanic discharges on land and sea, can vary a lot over time.  It seems at least possible that the amount of heat being delivered from underwater volcanic eruptions could similarly vary.  In any event, it won’t get funding because it isn’t part of the “CO2 Bad” hypothesis of climate governance.  But hopefully someone explores it further.