Scripps Institution of Oceanography

In the following presentation, I shall explore the question how the ocean will react to global warming. None of the suggested responses are in any way certain -- the ocean’s reaction is unpredictable. However, we can obtain certain clues from how it behaved in the geologically recent past. I maintain that: Global warming is real; there is no surprise. The future has no analog in the past. Albedo feedback is a prime mover in climate change. We don’t understand the carbon cycle very well. We don’t understand ocean productivity very well. The lack of understanding does not imply that nothing is happening: Ignorance is not bliss.