The oceans contain most of the mobile carbon on the planet. They play a central role in CO2 uptake that may be changing with time, and that uptake has changed the pH of the ocean. This theme covers the forcing functions as well as the physical/chemical carbon-related impacts. These include, but might not be limited to:

• increased temperature, its effect on climate, and related consequences (e.g., general warming and climate, changes in the hydrologic cycle on land and over the ocean, changes in rate of CO2 uptake by the oceans);
• sea level change effects from CO2 (e.g., direct warming and volume increase of the oceans, melting of glacial ice and its effect on sea level);
• increased dissolution of CO2 in the oceans and its effect on pH (here we would cover the evidence of increasing acidity and how long these changes will last; we would leave the impacts on ecosystems for the ecosystem group);
• other physical changes in the ocean/climate system related to CO2 uptake, warming, or precipitation changes (e.g. changing patterns of El Nino, etc.).