Oceans act as a ‘heat sink’

The so-called global warming “hiatus” phenomenon — the possible temporary slowdown of the global mean surface temperature (GMST) trend said to have occurred from 1998 to 2013 — did not in fact occur. New research points to the prominent role global ocean played in absorbing extra heat from the atmosphere by acting as a “heat sink” as an explanation for the observed decrease in a key indicator of climate change.