Re. Cattledog Post; Woods Hole Study Showing Gulf Stream Weakest In 1,600 Years

[hatrack]

EDIT

In the northern Atlantic, this surface water eventually cools and sinks to the bottom of the ocean, where another current transports it south to Antarctica before circulating back to the Gulf Stream and beginning the cycle anew. This entire process is known as thermohaline circulation.

However, a team of researchers from University College London (UCL) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have offered evidence from marine sediment that the AMOC is currently at its weakest point in the past 1,600 years.

Another study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) used climate model data and historical records of sea surface temperatures to reveal that the AMOC has been rapidly weakening since 1950 as a result of rising temperatures linked to global warming. Both studies, which will be published together in the April 12 issue of Nature, strongly suggest that the AMOC has weakened over the past by 150 years by at least 15 percent to 20 percent.

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Levke Ceasar, a PhD student and a researcher with the PIK study, says the results confirm what scientists already assumed about the AMOC. "Climate models have predicted that the overturning circulation in the Atlantic will slow down due to global warming," she told DW. "Our study shows that yes, it is already happening. Since the mid-20th century we have seen a slowdown of the overturning circulation by about 15 percent."

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http://www.dw.com/en/gulf-stream-system-at-weakest-point-in-1600-years/a-43348456

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. How does that affect the jet stream, I wonder...n/t