ATLANTIC OCEAN CIRCULATION PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN REGULATING THE GLOBAL CLIMATE
When it comes to regulating global climate, the circulation of the Atlantic Ocean plays a key role.
This is due to a constantly moving system of deep-water circulation often referred to as the Global Ocean Conveyor Belt which sends warm, salty Gulf Stream water to the North Atlantic where it releases heat to the atmosphere and warms Western Europe.
The cooler water then sinks to great depths and travels all the way to Antarctica and eventually circulates back up to the Gulf Stream.
When it comes to regulating global climate, the circulation of the Atlantic Ocean plays a key role
This motion is fuelled by thermohaline currents – a combination of temperature and salt.
It takes thousands of years for water to complete a continuous journey around the world.
Researchers believe that as the North Atlantic began to warm near the end of the Little Ice Age, freshwater disrupted the system, called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).
Arctic sea ice, and ice sheets and glaciers surrounding the Arctic began to melt, forming a huge natural tap of fresh water that gushed into the North Atlantic.
This huge influx of freshwater diluted the surface seawater, making it lighter and less able to sink deep, slowing down the AMOC system.
Researchers found the AMOC has been weakening more rapidly since 1950 in response to recent global warming.
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