Ocean Heat Content (Anomaly)

Ocean heat content is the integrated thermal energy stored in a layer of the ocean, and its anomaly is the departure from a reference period. The ocean absorbs more than 90% of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases, so OHC is the most stable indicator of planetary warming, less noisy than surface temperature. Argo floats supply the upper-2,000 m record; rising OHC drives thermal expansion, the largest single contributor to sea-level rise over recent decades.