Interest in understanding the Earth's climate has grown enormously, since the realisation that rapid changes in the climate can be a serious danger tor all sorts of lite on Earth. Much of the current climate change is forced by the rapid increase of population and industrialisation, which has led to an increase of the emission of carbon dioxide (CO_2) and other greenhouse gases by burning fossil fuels. Consequences of global warming that are currently observed or predicted for the near future are increasing extremes of droughts, heavy rainfall, heavy storms and floods (Hansen et al., 2015). Since 71 % of the Earth's surface is covered by water (including 6% of ice cover) and 97% of Earth's water is held by oceans (Taylor F.W., 2005), oceans are a very important component in the climate system. Predicted sea level rise might be one of the most dangerous consequences of global warming, so it is important to get a clear idea of the relation between global warming and changes in the behaviour of the oceans. This paper will discuss the results of two studies about climate change in the present, past and future, based on climate physics, measurements and reconstructions of past climates so that we are able to answer the question which processes that take place in the oceans are influenced by and influencing global warming.
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