Global Warming, page-226

  1. 6,398 Posts.
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    Well, now. Sea level continues to rise at ~3.2 mm/y, roughly twice the 20th century average.

    I know what your next question will be: why haven't we seen a jump in rate associated with the "pause". Don't bother. The heat capacity of the oceans is so much larger than that of the atmosphere that the increased uptake necessary to temporarily hold atmospheric temperatures steady would likely only equate to maybe a 1% change in the rate of rise.

    That's the thing about big, massive things like the ocean: they're slow to get moving, but also very slow to stop once they get some momentum going.
 
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