Mythâs Note: At first, it was supposed to be a quick joke image; months later down the research rabbit hole, and especially with recent updates, this article has become a bit of an unwieldy monster at nearly nine thousand words. This may take multiple reading sessions to get through. However, in an attempt to help readers keep track and pace themselves, Iâve organized this piece into the following sections:
I. The Watched Pot
II. A Quick Dip into SST Measurement History
III. The Consequences: Thermal Expansion, Ocean Currents, Atmospheric Energy, Habitat Destruction and Marine Heatwaves.
IV. The Causes: Anthropogenic GHG Emissions, El Niño, Aerosols and the Faustian Bargain
If you were inspired by this article to write and publish your own, then I would sincerely appreciate citation. Additionally, and if Iâve set this up correctly, there should be a text-to-speech audio version in the Substack app if youâd prefer to listen.
As always, weâll start with a meme – and so, without further ado, please enjoy!
I want you all to imagine, if only for a moment, that you are a far off visitor approaching Earth. Perhaps youâve managed to catch a ride upon the latest ship passing through the night â the first detected interstellar traveler to pass through our little solar system, âOumuamua (a messenger from afar arriving first).
As you pass us by here on Spaceship Earth, you will definitely notice something rather peculiar about our pale blue dot â itâs a planet rich with water (liquid and frozen), covered by swirling clouds (mostly water vapor) above a few landmasses…
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
