URI Oceanographers Reveal Hyperlinks Between Gulf Stream Migration And Ocean Warming – Watts Up With That?
UNIVERSITY OF RHODES ISLAND
Research news
PICTURE: ANIMATED MAP AND TIME ROW (SAME COLOR CONVENTION) OF THE 2008 TEMPERATURE ANOMALY ON THE NORTH-WEST ATLANTIC SHELF, HIGHLIGHTING THE QUICK HEAT IN THE LATEST DECADE. show more CREDIT: (ANIMATION BY AFONSO GONÇALVES NETO)
KINGSTON, RI, – April 20, 2021 – The Northwest Atlantic Shelf is one of the fastest changing regions in the global ocean and is currently experiencing marine heat waves, altered fisheries, and sea level rise along North America’s east coast. A new paper, titled “Changes in the Gulf Stream Preceded Rapid Warming of the Northwest Atlantic Shelf,” recently published in Communications Earth & Environment by Afonso Gonçalves Neto, a graduate of the URI Graduate School of Oceanography, reveals the root causes, potential predictability and potential the historical context for these types of rapid changes.
“We used satellite data to show that as the Gulf Stream moves closer to the underwater plateau known as the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, as it did after 2008, it will block the transport of the Labrador Current to the southwest, which would otherwise provide cold, fresh oxygen – rich water on the North American shelf, ”said lead author Gonçalves Neto. This mechanism explains why the past decade on the edge of the northeastern United States and Canada has been the hottest ever recorded when the system of delivering cold water to the region became clogged by the presence of the Gulf Stream.
The URI research team identified the importance of establishing that the signature observed by the satellite of the position of the Gulf Stream relative to the Grand Banks preceded the warming of the underground shelf by more than a year. “By monitoring satellite observations for changes near the Grand Banks, we can predict changes in the northeast US shelf that may have enough lead time to make fisheries management decisions,” said Joe Langan, graduate and co-author of the GSO .
The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are hardly an unknown. Near this feature, an iceberg sank the RMS Titanic, initiating the creation of the International Ice Patrol. The Ice Patrol has been collecting oceanographic data in this region for over a century, so the URI team can put the latest satellite observations in a much longer-term context. Although the 2008 shift on the edge of the Grand Banks resulted in warmer and salty conditions than ever since 1930, there was a similar shift in the 1970s when compared to the decades before that. For example, the change in circulation observed directly from satellites could have set a precedent some 50 years ago.
Jaime Palter, GSO Associate Professor of Oceanography and co-author of the study, marveled at the long record and the unknown. “We still don’t know what caused the abrupt shift in circulation near the Grand Banks suspected in the 1970s and observed in 2008, or whether this is the new normal for circulation and temperatures on the northeastern shelf” said Palter. “There are model studies that suggest that slowing the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation may cause the types of changes we have observed, but the link has yet to be made in the observation log.”
###
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a system of currents that supplies northern regions with warm seawater, contributes to the warm Scandinavian climate and influences a wide range of weather phenomena in the northern hemisphere. Climate models show that if greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, the AMOC circulation will slow down, which – if the link is proven – would further transform shelf waters in the northeastern US and Canada in the future and adversely affect fisheries.
From EurekAlert!
1.7
3rd
voices
Item rating
Like this:
Loading…
Comments are closed.