From Australian Oceans Data Network
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Data and analysis scripts for: Recent acceleration in global ocean heat accumulation by mode and intermediate waters

Created 12/02/2026

Updated 12/02/2026

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The ocean absorbs >90% of anthropogenic heat in the Earth system, moderating global atmospheric warming. However, it remains unclear how this heat uptake is distributed by basin and across water masses. Here we analyze historical and recent observations to show that ocean heat uptake has accelerated dramatically since the 1990s, nearly doubling during 2010–2020 relative to 1990–2000. Of the total ocean heat uptake over the Argo era 2005–2020, about 89% can be found in global mode and intermediate water layers, spanning both hemispheres and both subtropical and subpolar mode waters. Due to anthropogenic warming, there are significant changes in the volume of these water-mass layers as they warm and freshen. After factoring out volumetric changes, the combined warming of these layers accounts for ~76% of global ocean warming. We further decompose these water-mass layers into regional water masses over the subtropical Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and in the Southern Ocean. This shows that regional mode and intermediate waters are responsible for a disproportionate fraction of total heat uptake compared to their volume, with important implications for understanding ongoing ocean warming, sea-level rise, and climate impacts.

The study titled “Recent acceleration in global ocean heat accumulation by mode and intermediate waters” was published in Nature Communications in October 2023.

All datasets are publicly accessible (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17274477) and are additionally linked to this record.

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Additional Info

Field Value
Title Data and analysis scripts for: Recent acceleration in global ocean heat accumulation by mode and intermediate waters
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/f7249963-c355-468c-8e20-ec567584e12c
Contact Point
Australian Ocean Data Network
zhi.li4@unsw.edu.au
Reference Period 29/09/2023 - 03/10/2023
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
{
  "coordinates": [
    [
      [
        -180.0,
        -65.0
      ],
      [
        180.0,
        -65.0
      ],
      [
        180.0,
        65.0
      ],
      [
        -180.0,
        65.0
      ],
      [
        -180.0,
        -65.0
      ]
    ]
  ],
  "type": "Polygon"
}
Data Portal Australian Oceans Data Network

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Australian Oceans Data Network "Data and analysis scripts for: Recent acceleration in global ocean heat accumulation by mode and intermediate waters". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/data-and-analysis-scripts-for-recent-acceleration-in-global-ocean-heat-accumulation-by-mode-and2