Earth's Ocean Abyss Hasn't Warmed Since 2005

Earth's deep ocean must be shivering, because this dark abyss hasn't warmed since 2005, according to new NASA research.

These cold waters are leaving scientists puzzled as to why global warming appears to have slowed in recent years.

Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) analyzed satellite and direct ocean temperature data from 2005 to 2013 and found the ocean abyss 1.24 miles (1,995 meters) below the sea's surface hasn't experienced any measureable warming.

"The combination of satellite and direct temperature data gives us a glimpse of how much sea level rise is due to deep warming. The answer is - not much," JPL's William Llovel, lead author of the study, said in a statement.

Greenhouse gases are still abundant in the Earth's atmosphere, but global average surface air temperatures have stopped rising in tandem with the gases. The temperature of the top half of the world's ocean - above the 1.24-mile mark - is still climbing, as was demonstrated in a related study on the Southern Hemisphere's oceans, but not fast enough to account for the stalled air temperatures.