The world's oceans cover about 70 percent of the planet's surface. They have a tremendous influence on the weather and climate. In turn, changing climates can permanently affect the ocean.

Earth's surface has been warming for the past two centuries, the result of the greenhouse effect. This has been brought on by emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum. Greenhouse gases trap the Sun's heat near the planet's surface, causing temperatures to rise.

The oceans have been getting warmer along with the rest of the planet. Water absorbs heat, which increases surface temperatures. Tropical storms and tropical cyclones such as hurricanes and typhoons require warm ocean waters to form; warming seas will probably mean more and stronger tropical cyclones in coming years.

Warmer seas melt ice at the poles, resulting in higher sea levels. This rise causes increased coastal flooding. Warmer seas can be a problem for marine life, too. Many organisms are adapted to living in water of a particular temperature and will not survive in warmer waters. Coral, for example, dies when water gets too warm; its death can cause a cascade of deaths among the animals that live on and around coral reefs.

Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissolves into water at the surface, which increases the acidity of ocean waters. This can kill animals that form shells, such as shellfish and corals.

The ocean changes more slowly than air does. It takes longer to absorb heat and releases it more slowly. The current aspects of climate change are going to be appearing in the oceans for years to come, perhaps even centuries. Even if greenhouse gas emissions ended immediately, the oceans would still take many years after that to adjust to the current changes in the atmosphere.

The coastline of Miami Beach andpart of Fisher Island (bottom) are seen June 3, 2014, in Florida. According to numerous scientists, south Florida could be flooded by the end of the century as global warming continues to melt the Arctic ice, in turn causing oceans to rise. U.S. President Barack Obama and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced in August 2015 a rule that would reduce the nation's biggest source of pollution, carbon emissions from power plants, 30 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. It is widely believed that these emissions are a main cause ofglobal warming. © JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES NEWS/GETTY IMAGES. © JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES NEWS/GETTY IMAGES.