12 months of record-breaking ocean heat have experts perplexed and alarmed.

The global sea surface temperature has risen every day for the past 12 months, setting new records.

Ocean experts are becoming more and more alarmed.

The margin by which the ocean temperatures are breaking records this year is significantly greater than the previous record, according to Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science. "That's what many people are finding troubling."

The Climate Reanalyzer at the University of Maine indicates that average sea surface temperatures now are around 1.25 degrees Fahrenheit higher than they were between 1982 and 2011. It's a massive oddity with potentially big impacts on ecosystems and weather patterns.

Researchers concluded that although human-caused climate change is definitely not the primary culprit, it is undoubtedly playing a part. While natural climate variability, such as El Niño and La Niña patterns, can alter ocean surface temperatures, climate models forecast a constant rise in sea surface temperatures—just not at this rate.

Therefore, the exact reason behind the sharp rise in sea surface temperatures remains unknown to scientists.

John Abraham, a professor of ocean temperature research at the University of St. Thomas, said, "I pray we're having a once-in-a-lifetime year of hot sea surface temperatures, but I do fear there may be something else going on that is causing a long-term change in sea surface temperatures we hadn't predicted." "Now that this is something so uncommon that it's going against our previous expectations, all bets are off."

Breaking records for ocean temperatures could bleach corals, cause more powerful and swiftly building hurricanes, raise coastal temperatures, and increase the likelihood of extreme precipitation—events that scientists have already noted for 2023.

The first record-breaking temperatures occurred in mid-March of last year, according to the Climate Reanalyzer, a website that records global average sea surface temperature data. The information used to calculate these trends is derived from robotic weather forecasting instruments and networks of observation buoys that have been in operation for more than 40 years.

Abraham believes that climate change is the primary driver of the trend, however certain poorly understood natural ocean processes may also be involved.

The ocean has absorbed about 90% of the heat produced by global warming, despite the fact that average air temperatures are currently 1.8 F higher than they were between 1979 and 2000. Sea levels were therefore not predicted to rise this quickly.

Abraham stated, "To raise the temperature of water, a lot of heat is required."

Nonetheless, he and McNoldy agreed that it's plausible that global warming has caused an ocean system to beyond a critical point.

El Niño, a natural trend involving warm ocean water in the tropical Pacific Ocean, was also mentioned by some scientists last year as a contributor raising average sea surface temperatures.

However, El Niño is waning now, so they think there might be another factor involved.

"What's causing these high temperatures right now isn't just El Niño," Abraham stated. "It can't be explained by the arguments made six or twelve months ago." "There are higher sea surface temperatures elsewhere, far away from El Niño locations."

Other factors that McNoldy mentioned could be somewhat significant include the thinning of the North Atlantic trade winds, which has lessened the quantity of dust that blows toward North America from Africa's Sahara Desert. It's probable that more radiation is entering the water because dust absorbs solar radiation over the Atlantic water.

McNoldy remarked, "That might be a factor, but I don't know how to quantify it."

Additionally, some academics have hypothesized that modifications to maritime shipping laws may have lessened sulfur pollution in ship exhaust, which would have decreased cloud cover and increased oceanic absorption of energy.

"Maybe in a combined sense, all these little ingredients do explain what we're seeing," McNoldy said, adding that while he is dubious about the theory, he can't completely rule it out.

For whatever reason, increasing sea surface temperatures can be extremely dangerous. According to Abraham, "the ones that form often become stronger" because warmer water gives storms more energy to feed on.

Rapid intensification, or hurricane winds that quickly pick up strength as they get closer to land, is another concern associated with warmer waters. Hurricane Idalia of the previous year changed in just one day from a Category 1 to a Category 4.

The Atlantic and the Horn of Africa, where hurricanes that frequently slam the US East Coast, are home to some of the biggest sea surface temperature anomalies. Furthermore, the Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Service estimates that there is a 62% likelihood that a La Niña, which is linked to intense and destructive hurricane seasons, would form in late spring.

According to Abraham, high sea surface temperatures can also intensify coastal rainstorms by creating an environment that is hotter and more humid.

According to McNoldy, corals, which suffered a great deal last year, are another area of concern.

Some of the biggest bleaching events that have ever been seen in Florida and the Caribbean Sea were brought on by warm waters; stressed corals turned white and drove out the photosynthetic algae that is resident in their tissue.

"The oceans will be warmer than 2023 and we'll see even worse coral bleaching events if the anomalies we're seeing now are in place during the hot months," McNoldy stated.

He continued, saying of ocean scientists, "We're kind of just observing something strange happening." I've yet to see the answer, but someone will eventually come up with one.