The amount of sea level rise in the Pacific Ocean can be used to estimate future global surface temperatures, according to a new report led by University of Arizona geoscientists.
Based on the Pacific Ocean's sea level in 2015, the team estimates by the end of 2016 the world's average surface temperature will increase up to 0.5 F (0.28 C) more than in 2014.
In 2015 alone, the average global surface temperature increased by 0.32 F (0.18 C).
"Our prediction is through the end of 2016," said first author Cheryl Peyser. "The prediction is looking on target so far."
Scientists knew that both the rate at which global surface temperature is rising and sea level in the western Pacific varied, but had not connected the two phenomena, said Peyser, a UA doctoral candidate in geosciences.
Image: The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean basin on Earth, covering more than 60 million square miles (155 million square kilometers) and averaging a depth of 13,000 feet (4,000 meters).
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