Virtual BSC RS/AI4ES: Regional ocean warming and sea level rise: an AI perspective

Abstract

Analysis of global and regional ocean temperature and sea level observations across the three major basins shows that heat uptake and its redistribution through the subsurface waters has widespread impacts on the global climate. The transport of heat into the ocean is also key to diagnose region-specific coastal sea level variability on timescales of several years to decades. Even so, there is still limited understanding of past variability and associated processes, which poses challenges for predictability of such changes. Moreover, climate is a highly complex and networked dynamical system that can change naturally in unexpected ways. In view of this complexity, there is a need for more sophisticated tools to model and anticipate our changing oceans. In this context, the AI4OCEANS Group is developing machine learning techniques to help assess the regional effects of climate change in the oceans. Our findings have so far provided useful insight into the topic in several ways and highlight the importance of artificial intelligence within the rapidly expanding oceans.