Changes in the ocean climate
As in the atmosphere and on land, anthropogenic climate change has an impact on the physical environment of the ocean. Public awareness often emphasises warming ocean temperatures, rising sea-levels and ocean acidification, but the impacts extend further. These include changes to the salinity and oxygen concentration of seawater, the currents, waves, storms, coastlines and water column stratification. This section summarises current knowledge of the impacts of climate change that have already been observed and provides an outlook on how conditions are likely to change in future from climate projections.
