Editing Sea surface temperature (section)

{{Short description|Water temperature close to the ocean's surface}}
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[[File:1979- Daily sea surface temperatures 60S-60N latitudes.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Sea surface temperature since 1979 in the extrapolar region (between 60 degrees south and 60 degrees north latitude).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Copernicus: March 2024 is the tenth month in a row to be the hottest on record {{!}} Copernicus |url=https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-march-2024-tenth-month-row-be-hottest-record |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=climate.copernicus.eu}}</ref>]]
'''Sea surface temperature''' (or '''ocean surface temperature''') is the [[ocean temperature|temperature of ocean water]] close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies in the literature and in practice. It is usually between {{convert|1|mm|in|sigfig=1}} and {{convert|20|m|ft|sigfig=1}} below the [[sea]] surface. Sea surface temperatures greatly modify [[air mass]]es in the [[Atmosphere of Earth|Earth's atmosphere]] within a short distance of the shore. The [[thermohaline circulation]] has a major impact on average sea surface temperature throughout most of the world's oceans.<ref name="Rahmstorf2003">{{cite journal |last=Rahmstorf |first=S |year=2003 |title=The concept of the thermohaline circulation |url=http://www.pik-potsdam.de/~stefan/Publications/Nature/nature_concept_03.pdf |journal=Nature |volume=421 |issue=6924 |page=699 |bibcode=2003Natur.421..699R |doi=10.1038/421699a |pmid=12610602 |s2cid=4414604 |doi-access=free}}</ref> 

Warm sea surface temperatures can develop and [[Tropical cyclogenesis|strengthen cyclones over the ocean]]. Tropical cyclones can also cause a cool wake. This is due to turbulent mixing of the upper {{convert|30|m|ft|sigfig=1}} of the ocean. Sea surface temperature changes during the day. This is like the air above it, but to a lesser degree. There is less variation in sea surface temperature on breezy days than on calm days. 

Coastal sea surface temperatures can cause offshore winds to generate [[upwelling]], which can significantly cool or warm nearby landmasses, but shallower waters over a [[continental shelf]] are often warmer. Onshore winds can cause a considerable warm-up even in areas where upwelling is fairly constant, such as the northwest coast of [[South America]]. The values are important within [[numerical weather prediction]] as the sea surface temperature influences the atmosphere above, such as in the formation of [[sea breeze]]s and [[advection fog#Types|sea fog]]. 

It is very likely that global mean sea surface temperature increased by 0.88&nbsp;°C between 1850–1900 and 2011–2020 due to [[Climate change|global warming]], with most of that warming (0.60&nbsp;°C) occurring between 1980 and 2020.<ref name="AR6_WG1_Chapter9">Fox-Kemper, B., H.T. Hewitt, C. Xiao, G. Aðalgeirsdóttir, S.S. Drijfhout, T.L. Edwards, N.R. Golledge, M. Hemer, R.E. Kopp, G. Krinner, A. Mix, D. Notz, S. Nowicki, I.S. Nurhati, L. Ruiz, J.-B. Sallée, A.B.A. Slangen, and Y. Yu, 2021: [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Chapter09.pdf Chapter 9: Ocean, Cryosphere and Sea Level Change]. In [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/ Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L.&nbsp;Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, New York, USA, pages 1211–1362, doi:10.1017/9781009157896.011.</ref>{{rp|1228}} The temperatures over land are rising faster than [[Ocean temperature|ocean temperatures]]. This is because the [[Ocean heat content|ocean absorbs]] about 90% of [[Earth's energy budget|excess heat]] generated by [[climate change]].<ref name="ocean heat 92">{{cite web |title=The Oceans Are Heating Up Faster Than Expected |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-oceans-are-heating-up-faster-than-expected/ |access-date=3 March 2020 |publisher=scientific american}}</ref>

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