The following is very interesting as regards the controversial topic of potential significant deep ocean heating from sources independent of AGW:
Apr 28, 2026
by David Appell, Phys.org
Scientists found that up until 2016 that the global mean sea level (GMSL) "budget," accounting for all the energy flows that create sea level rise, was "closed," but since then it has developed a hole in it. The budget is no longer closed, at least according to ocean heat data, down to 2,000 meters. Where was the missing cause for the latest sea level rise?
Now a new examination of sea level in the global ocean since 2016 has closed the GMSL budget and brought the sea level books back into order. The new researchappears in the journal Earth's Future. The paper is important for showing that deep ocean heating can no longer be ignored when considering sea level rise and its acceleration.
Deep ocean heat's growing role
In particular, the researchers, with lead author Anny Cazenave, an emeritus scientist at the Laboratory of Space Geophysical and Oceanographic Studies (LEGOS) at Toulouse, France, found that accounting for sea level rise from expansion due to added heat in the deep ocean, below 2,000 meters, allowed the GMSL budget to be "almost closed" since 2016.
"The next step," they write, "will be to determine whether the recent deep ocean change is due tointernal climate variability, forced anthropogenic response or a combination of both."
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-anomaly-global-sea-deep-ocean.html
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Does this imply that deep ocean seismic activity MAY actually be an independent nontrivial source of ocean warming? Perhaps this may help explain the pockets of extreme ocean warming such as has been the case in the W PAC? Keep in mind that David Appell is not an AGW skeptic and this isn’t at all minimizing the warming effects of AGW, itself, as regards ocean warming nearer to the surface due to GW from AGW.
This is an awesome, very profound topic, Larry!
I have wondered many times about the potential contribution from geothermal activity at the bottom of the ocean floors but there isn't enough empirical data/measurements to use in order to have an informed opinion.
Previous posts that discuss "The Blob"
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: 6-18-23 the next tropical depression
By metmike - June 18, 2023, 4:40 p.m.
El Niño/ENSO update May 16, 2023
By metmike - May 23, 2023, 1:57 p.m.
Turns out that my search for past posts on this, resulted in me stumbling on these links/awesome videos from that last thread.
With the Super Duper El Nino approaching, there couldn't have been a better find!!!!
Your contribution/gift to us 3 years ago, Larry is coming back to really contribute here in 2026!
Re: Re: Re: El Niño/ENSO update May 16, 2023
By metmike - May 23, 2023, 1:17 p.m.
Thanks much, Larry!
This is really impressive and something I've been neglecting so thanks for your persistence and wonderful, very insightful contributions.
From the site that you provided a link to earlier:
https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/MJO/enso.shtml#current
https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_update/sstanim.shtml
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https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_update/wkxzteq.shtml
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Just to note for everybody (Larry knows)that the article is focused on accounting for the missing explanation for why sea levels increased a bit more than expected using the currently known contributions.
More than 30% of the increase in sea levels is from the oceans warming that causes thermal expansion. We are accurately measuring the top layers and can accurately calculate how much that contribution is. As well as from melting ice on the planet and from runoff that comes from land that includes sources, like rainfall and ground water used by humans that makes its way to the oceans.
I wonder if they could be off on runoff from land since we are massively drawing down aquifers and having record rain events?
Regardless, it’s a fascinating topic. We actually know much more about the moon that’s 238,000 miles away than we do about the bottoms of deep oceans, miles below the surface and much closer to intense heat sources below the bottom of the ocean.
I was under the impression that water had a maximum density at 4C. Turns out that's wrong in deep salt water, which maxes at 0C. Nice to learn something today! Thanks, guys.
Some links at a Reddit page - https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1yiuh4/how_cold_is_the_water_at_the_bottom_of_the/
Thanks very much for that fascinating tidbit, patrick.
I didn't know some of that!
Most of these blobs are explained by circulations in the atmosphere and water!
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-47032-x
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/19/climate/pacific-ocean-blob-hot-water-global-warming
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https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adx9452
I don't expect people to read all this but am just sharing what I read most of in case there is interest in learning more.
This is a wonderful topic. Thanks again, Larry! The oceans are 2/3rds of the surface area of the planet and contain the VAST majority of heat and water. They mean EVERYTHING when it comes to our weather patterns, short and long term. Most water vapor/precipitable water in the air for rain/snow making came from the oceans!
Geothermal heat: an episodic heat source in ocean
file:///C:/Users/Mike/Downloads/ImpEng2017S.pdf
