Scientists rely on simulations to project future climate change. However, recent research co-led by the Department of Geography, University of Cambridge found that the Arctic Ocean has been getting warmer since the start of the 20th century, decades earlier than records suggested, providing a missing piece of the climate change puzzle. Using the chemical signatures found in marine microorganisms, the researchers found that since 1900, the Arctic Ocean temperature has risen by about 2 Celsius while sea ice has retreated and salinity has increased. Placing it in a longer context of an 800-year timescale the temperature and salinity records remain constant until the 20th century, when marked change sticks out.
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