Skip Navigation

Explore

Video: Oceans of Climate Change

Oceanographer Josh Willis discusses the heat capacity of water, performs an experiment to demonstrate heat capacity using a water balloon and describes how water's ability to store heat affects Earth's climate.

Download the original video.

Credit

NASA JPL

Related

Now you see it, now you don't - Climate 365 graphic
More
Now you see it, now you don't - Climate 365 graphic
Graphic: Dramatic glacier melt
Global ice viewer interactive
More
Global ice viewer interactive
Interactive: Global ice viewer
Color-coded map of changing global surface temperature anomalies from 1880 through 2017. 
More
Graphic: Global warming from 1880 to 2017
Graphic: Global warming from 1880 to 2017
This chart shows monthly CO2 levels in recent years.
More
Video: Carbon Dioxide Concentration
Video: Carbon Dioxide Concentration
Video: Scientists combined an array of NASA satellite observations of Earth with data on human activities to map locations where freshwater is changing around the globe and why.
More
For 15 years, GRACE tracked freshwater movements around the world
Video: For 15 years, GRACE tracked freshwater movements around the world
Test your knowledge of energy and its role in our climate.
More
Test your knowledge of energy and its role in our climate.
Quiz: Energy
The Mackenzie River in Canada plays a major role in Arctic climate as warmer fresh water mixes with cold seawater.  This image was taken by the Operational Land Imager on the Landsat 8 satellite on July 18, 2017.
More
The Mackenzie River in Canada plays a major role in Arctic climate as warmer fresh water mixes with cold seawater.
Mackenzie River
Video: Global sea level rise is accelerating incrementally over time rather than increasing at a steady rate.
More
New study finds sea level rise accelerating
Video: New study finds sea level rise accelerating
Earth discovered - Climate 365 graphic
More
Earth discovered - Climate 365 graphic
Graphic: Earth, discovered
By comparing bee data to satellite imagery, NASA research scientist Wayne Esaias uses honey bees as tiny data collectors to understand how climate change is affecting pollination and plants.
More
By comparing bee data to satellite imagery, NASA research scientist Wayne Esaias uses honey bees as tiny data collectors to understand how climate change is affecting pollination and plants.
Video: Sting of Climate Change
We know seas are rising and we know why. The urgent questions are by how much and how quickly.
More
Infographic: Sea level rise
Infographic: Sea level rise
Arctic sea ice - Climate 365 graphic
More
Arctic sea ice - Climate 365 graphic
Graphic: Arctic sea ice loss
NASA scientists are working to understand if our land and ocean can continue to absorb carbon dioxide at the current rate – and for how long.
More
Infographic: Earth's carbon cycle is off balance
Infographic: Earth's carbon cycle is off balance
Video: Using observations from NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2) satellite, scientists developed a model of the behavior of carbon in the atmosphere from September 1, 2014 to August 31, 2015.
More
Following carbon dioxide through the atmosphere
Video: Following atmospheric carbon dioxide
City vs. desert - Climate365 graphic
More
City vs. desert - Climate365 graphic
Graphic: City vs. desert temperatures
Land. Water. Fire. Ice. These elements are basic ingredients that make up planet Earth. Take a moment to admire the magnificent spectacle of our stunning home planet from the perspective of space.
More
Land. Water. Fire. Ice. These elements are basic ingredients that make up planet Earth. Take a moment to admire the magnificent spectacle of our stunning home planet from the perspective of space.
Video: Majestic Planet
Salinity plays a major role in global ocean circulation and changes in salinity may impact regional and global climates. NASA's Aquarius mission is painting a global picture of our planet's salty waters.
More
Salinity plays a major role in global ocean circulation and changes in salinity may impact regional and global climates. NASA's Aquarius mission is painting a global picture of our planet's salty waters. NASA
Video: Aquarius
Video: Images created from GRACE data showing changes in Greenland ice mass since 2002.
More
Greenland ice loss 2002-2016
Video: Greenland ice loss 2002-2016
Along Greenland's western coast, a small field of glaciers surrounds Baffin Bay. This image was acquired by the Landsat 7 satellite on September 3, 2000. It is a false-color composite image made using near-infrared, red and blue wavelengths. 
More
Baffin Bay, Greenland
Baffin Bay, Greenland
Carbon dioxide is the main heat-trapping greenhouse gas that humans emit. How much do you know about it and its impact on global warming and climate change?
More
Carbon dioxide quiz - how much do you know?
Quiz: Carbon dioxide
Warmer Earth, greener north - Climate 365 graphic
More
Warmer Earth, greener north - Climate 365 graphic
Graphic: Warmer Earth, greener North
How much do you know about glaciers and ice caps?
More
Test your knowledge of the many different varieties of frozen water and how these icy realms are connected to climate change.
Quiz: Ice and glaciers
Ice covers 10 percent of Earth's surface and helps moderate the planet's temperature. Glaciers and ice sheets around the world are melting at an alarming rate. By keeping an eye on Earth's ice from space, NASA satellites help us understand the global effects of climate change.
More
Ice covers 10 percent of Earth's surface and helps moderate the planet's temperature. Glaciers and ice sheets around the world are melting at an alarming rate. By keeping an eye on Earth's ice from space, NASA satellites help us understand the global effects of climate change.
Video: Frozen Earth
Video - the home frontier
More
Video - the home frontier
Video: The Home Frontier
Video: NASA scientists release the first new global map of Earth at night since 2012.
More
Video: Lights of human activity shine in NASA's image of Earth at night
Video: Lights of human activity shine in NASA's image of Earth at night

Explore

Interactives, galleries and apps

Images of Change

Images of Change

Explore a stunning gallery of before-and-after images of Earth from land and space that reveal our home planet in a state of flux.
More
Climate Mobile Apps

Climate Mobile Apps

Keep track of Earth's vital signs, see the planet in a state of flux and slow the pace of global warming with NASA's free mobile apps.
More
Climate Time Machine

Climate Time Machine

Travel through Earth's recent climate history and see how increasing carbon dioxide, global temperature and sea ice have changed over time.
More
Eyes on the Earth

Eyes on the Earth

Track Earth's vital signs from space and fly along with NASA's Earth-observing satellites in an interactive 3D visualization.
More
Global Ice Viewer

Global Ice Viewer

Earth's ice cover is shrinking. See how climate change has affected glaciers, sea ice, and continental ice sheets.
More