Carbon Footprints

The Earth is warming but not just due to the 'greenhouse effect.'  

There is another effect: radioactive decay heat from nuclear testing fallout.  

Nuclear testing by global powers during the 1950s and 1960s littered the oceans with tens of thousands of pounds of manmade radioactive substances.  All of that radioactive debris gives off heat over time. 

If we assume: 

* post-blast decay-heat generates about 595 calories each second per kiloton (of nuclear blast),

* fallout debris from about 190,000 kilotons (fission yield) of nuclear testing ended up in the oceans from above-ground testing and some leaked underwater/underground (i.e. French, U.S. Pacific) tests, 

* then that's 113 million Calories

* we assume that 1.26 billion seconds lapsed in the 40 years since the 'median point' of testing occurred (40*365*24*60*60),  

* then we have 113 million calories per second x 1.26 billion seconds or 1.42 × 10¹⁷calories.

If it takes 1000 calories to heat 1 Liter of water 1 degree Celsius, then all that ocean fallout debris would raise just 1 liter of water 1.42 x 10¹³ degrees Celsius.

Although the oceans' volume is 7.4 x 10²⁰ liters, virtually all 'fission products' remain on - float up to - the surface, so we'll stick to the epipelagic zone, the top 650 ft, which is about 7 x 10¹³ liters.

So, if all that heat raises 1 liter of water 1.42 x 10¹³ degrees Celsius, then it would raise the water temperatures in the epipelagic zone (7 x 10¹³ L)  by 0.2 degrees Celsius/0.36 degrees Fahrenheit.

Maybe this number is too high because the rate of decay heat from radioactive debris decreases over time.

Let's try again.  If we assume:

* a 1 kiloton nuclear fission blast creates 10¹² calories, then 190,000 kilotons produces 1.9 x 10¹⁷ calories

* if 10% of the energy of a nuclear blast concentrates in 'fission product' decay heat,

* then fallout debris in the oceans were heated by 1.9 x 10¹⁶  calories

The ocean water temperature will rise in the epipelagic zone by 0.027 degrees Celsius.

If the oceans have risen in temperature by about 0.2 degrees Celsius since the 1950s, then radioactive fallout accounts for about 10% of the warming.

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Disclaimer: None of this math is factually based or accurate, but it might be.