Interactive comment on “ Irreversible ocean thermal expansion under negative CO 2 emissions ” by Dana Ehlert and Kirsten Zickfeld

The author investigated the reversibility of ocean heat uptake and sea level due to thermal expansion by linearly increasing and then decreasing atmospheric CO2 in the UVic ESCM. They found that the sea level continues for several decades after atmospheric CO2 starts to decline and does not return to the pre-industrial level. They further tested the sensitivity of vertical sub-grid scale ocean mixing and concluded that, in most cases, both rise and decline rate of sea level increase with increasing vertical ocean mixing.