| Comments |
P.994 left column top paragraph: "Comprising >70% of the surface of the Earth, the oceans have the capacity to store >1000 times the heat compared with the atmosphere (BNID 113985). The oceans and shelf seas play a key role in regulating climate by storing, distributing and dissipating energy from solar radiation and exchanging heat with the atmosphere. The oceans are also the main reservoir and distributor of heat and salt and contribute to the formation, distribution and melting of sea ice. They regulate and modulate the evaporation and precipitation processes. Moreover, the oceans act as the primary storage medium for, and are able to absorb large quantities of the greenhouse gas CO2 (∼37 000 Gt, primary source)." Gt=Giga ton=10^9 tons |