biostudies-literatureUnknown110(38)Mei WTropical cyclones have been hypothesized to influence climate by pumping heat into the ocean, but a direct measure of this warming effect is still lacking. We quantified cyclone-induced ocean warming by directly monitoring the thermal expansion of water in the wake of cyclones, using satellite-based sea surface height data that provide a unique way of tracking the changes in ocean heat content on seasonal and longer timescales. We find that the long-term effect of cyclones is to warm the ocean at a rate of 0.32 ± 0.15 PW between 1993 and 2009, i.e., ∼23 times more efficiently per unit area than the background equatorial warming, making cyclones potentially important modulators of the climate by affecting heat transport in the ocean-atmosphere system. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America15207-10https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC3780896biostudies-literatureSea surface height evidence for long-term warming effects of tropical cyclones on the ocean.PMC3780896Mei WMcWilliams JCPasquero CPrimeau FfalseSea surface height evidence for long-term warming effects of tropical cyclones on the ocean.Tropical cyclones have been hypothesized to influence climate by pumping heat into the ocean, but a direct measure of this warming effect is still lacking. We quantified cyclone-induced ocean warming by directly monitoring the thermal expansion of water in the wake of cyclones, using satellite-based sea surface height data that provide a unique way of tracking the changes in ocean heat content on seasonal and longer timescales. We find that the long-term effect of cyclones is to warm the ocean at a rate of 0.32 ± 0.15 PW between 1993 and 2009, i.e., ∼23 times more efficiently per unit area than the background equatorial warming, making cyclones potentially important modulators of the climate by affecting heat transport in the ocean-atmosphere system. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z2013 Sep2025-04-20T03:18:54.153Z2019-03-27T01:16:26ZS-EPMC37808962392239310.1073/pnas.1306753110